DEFENCE

Arctic Campaign Veterans

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will ensure that the Arctic campaign veterans, who do not qualify for the Atlantic Star due to length of service restrictions receive some recognition of their service.

Ivor Caplin: All armed forces personnel who completed 28 days' operational service were eligible to receive the War Medal 1939–45. This included service on the convoys to Northern Russia. Any service curtailed by death, injury or capture also qualified for the award. There will always be those who fail to meet the qualifying period for a campaign medal for some reason or another. This does not signify that their service is not appreciated nor justify the institution of an alternative award.

AWE Aldermaston

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what initiatives have been taken by AWE Aldermaston to diversify out of nuclear warhead research, development and production.

Adam Ingram: AWE plc maintains a regular dialogue with industry and academia to encourage, within security constraints, beneficial exchanges and collaboration aimed at optimising its ability to meet its core mission of nuclear warhead research, development, production, in-service support and disposal. AWE plc's expertise in nuclear weapons inevitably has wider application; and the performance of core work can result in spin-off technology that has utility in industry and society at large. Beyond this, it is not AWE plc's function within its contract with the MOD to diversify out of the core business it is required to undertake.

Correspondence

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2004, Official Report, column 1460–61W, on Sea King helicopters, when he will write in reply to the hon. Member for St. Ives.

Adam Ingram: It has taken some time to collate the detailed information requested by the hon. Member. The work is now complete and I will write to him shortly and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Drugs

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of each of the armed forces tested positive for the use of controlled substances in the calendar year 2003 (a) as a proportion of those tested and (b) broken down by substance.

Ivor Caplin: The number of personnel who tested positive for use of a controlled substance in the year 2003 expressed as a proportion of those tested, and number of substances detected is as follows (the number of drugs identified is greater than the number of individuals who test positive where an individual tests positive for more than one drug):
	
		The Naval Service
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Number tested 13,803 
			 Number positive 56 
			 Percentage positive 0.41 
			   
			 Substance detected:  
			 Heroin 1 
			 Cocaine 23 
			 Ecstasy 15 
			 Cannabis 23 
			 Amphetamine 4 
			 Total 66 
		
	
	
		Army
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Number tested 93,168 
			 Number positive 516 
			 Percentage positive 0.62 
			   
			 Substance detected:  
			 Heroin 4 
			 Cannabis 288 
			 Ecstasy 117 
			 Cocaine 126 
			 Amphetamines 41 
			 Others 4 
			 Total 580 
		
	
	
		RAF
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Number tested 12,432 
			 Number positive 20 
			 Percentage positive 0.16 
			   
			 Substance detected:  
			 Ecstasy 4 
			 Cannabis 16 
			 Total 20

Submarine Crew

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  when the policy of instructing submarine crews to share rollneck jumpers and foul-weather suits was initiated by staff in his Department; and for what reasons;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the effect on (a) operational efficiency and (b) morale of instructing submarine crews to share rollneck jumpers and foul-weather suits;
	(3)  what the estimated savings are per submarine per month of the policy of sharing rollneck jumpers and foul-weather suits;
	(4)  if he will list those submarines in which crew members have been instructed to share (a) rollneck jumpers and (b) foul-weather suits.

Adam Ingram: There is no policy that submarine crews are to share rollneck jumpers and there has been no reduction in the allocation of foul-weather clothing suits. On the contrary, a programme is in place to increase the number of sets of foul-weather clothing suits issued.
	We have not estimated the savings that might accrue from adopting a policy of sharing personal clothing.

Websites

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total annual cost of his Department's websites, including those of its agencies, was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence and armed forces collectively maintain four corporate websites. Direct expenditure on these in the financial year 2003–04 was as follows:
	
		
			 Organisation Address Expenditure(£) 
		
		
			 Ministry of Defence www.mod.uk 111,000 
			 Royal Navy www.roval-navy.mod.uk 230,000 
			 British Army www.army.mod.uk 160,000 
			 Royal Air Force www.raf.mod.uk 108,000 
			 Total  609,000 
		
	
	A number of other, generally small, websites are maintained by subsidiary organisations of the MOD and armed forces. However, information on their expenditure is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Single European Currency (Referendum) Bill

George Osborne: To ask the Leader of the House if he will propose the creation of a joint committee of both Houses of Parliament to examine the draft Single European Currency (Referendum) Bill.

Peter Hain: No.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Defence Grant

Simon Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how much grant allocation for the civil defence grant he retained in each financial year since 1997;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) location and (b) nature of successful project bids for the discretionary grant allocation of the civil defence grant for each financial year since 1997.

Douglas Alexander: Since 2002–03, £100,000 has been retained at the start of the financial year specifically to be allocated as Discretionary Grant to support special projects and events related to the local authority emergency planning functions that are of benefit to the wider emergency planning community.
	
		
			 2002–03  
		
		
			 Staffordshire and Derbyshire Project to investigate and make recommendations for the implementation of quality control processes in the work of Emergency Planning Units. 
			 Derbyshire Seminar to promote public safety and good practice in the management of events and production of good practice guide. 
			 Greater Manchester Production of two training videos to assist with emergency planning awareness training . 
			 Merseyside Seminar to examine the lessons learned for emergency planning from the September 11 terrorist attack. 
			 Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, Cleveland, County Durham and Darlington Project to examine and identify improved methods of collaborative working within Regions.  
			 Tyne and Wear Project (PhD) to research GIS system to provide methodology for hazard analysis and risk assessment. 
			 Swindon and Wiltshire Project to provide virtual reality databases for high risk sites for use during training and live incidents. 
			 Coventry Production of revised and updated guidance document 'Guidelines For Faith Communities When Dealing With Disasters'.  
			 All local authorities in Wales Project to further development of 'Wales Benchmarking Club' (performance indicators for emergency planning). 
			 Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Project to develop mutual aid scheme. 
		
	
	
		
			 2003–04  
		
		
			 Reading Production of a resilience information booklet for schools and libraries, supported by a 'Z-Card' for public distribution. 
			 London (Fire and Emergency Planning Authority) Project to devise a strategy for the uniform provision of Business Continuity Management (BCM) promotion in London's 33 local authorities. 
			 Gloucestershire BCM training package for local authority services and other public sector bodies. 
			 Tyne and Wear Seminar/workshop to explore and identify suitable methods of BCM promotion by local authorities, and to explore the role of partners in the process. 
			 Norfolk Electronic (E-Tool) emergency management information project for the public and emergency responders. 
			 Shropshire Production of a multi-lingual phrase book for the victims of a CBRN incident 
			 Association of Greater Manchester Authorities Study to identify research related to human behaviour and its impact on the emergency response and business continuity management. 
			 Bradford The employment of a faith groups' liaison officer to complement other community cohesion initiatives which relate to local resilience and major incident planning. 
			 Bradford To further develop population modelling work and risk data sources for the identification of vulnerable population sites.

Civil Service Training

Harry Cohen: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what information he collects on the percentage of annual staffing costs spent on training in the civil service.

Douglas Alexander: The bulk of training in the civil service is carried out at Departmental level and information on costs incurred is not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Lord Birt

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the present work programme of Lord Birt.

Douglas Alexander: The position remains as set out in the answer provided by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb) on 11 March 2003, Official Report, column 214W.

Websites

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will instruct the office to maintain centrally expenditure figures for all Government Department websites.

Douglas Alexander: Individual Government Departments are responsible for the management and content of their websites and as such information regarding expenditure is not held centrally. There are no plans to hold such information centrally at the Cabinet Office.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Sugar

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the impact on developing countries of each of the options for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy sugar regime set out in the European Commission's working paper Reforming the European Union's sugar policy.

Hilary Benn: The UK Government support the European Commission's view that the extension of the current regime beyond 2006 (the 'status quo' option) is unsustainable given a range of both internal and external pressures. However, the issues are complex in developmental terms as any change to such a highly distorted regime will bring about losers as well as winners. This complexity is amplified by the divergence of interests among those developing countries with and those without preferential access to the European Union sugar market. DFID is working closely with other Government Departments to examine the implications for developing countries of the three options for reform set out by the European Commission.

West African Refugees

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the aid given to UNHCR to assist in the care and resettlement of West African refugees, with particular reference to those in Guinea; and what recent sums have been allocated.

Hilary Benn: DFID has recently committed £1.5 million to programmes of assistance to refugees in Guinea. In response to the UN's Consolidated Appeal for Guinea for 2004, we have provided £500,000 to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for care and assistance of Liberian refugees, and £500,000 to UNICEF for a primary health care project aimed at refugees and other vulnerable populations. In addition, we have contributed £500,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 2004 Appeal for assistance to vulnerable populations, including refugees, in Guinea.

PRIME MINISTER

Sir David King

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister whether Sir David King currently has to secure approval for media statements he wishes to make.

Tony Blair: No.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Katharine Gun

William Cash: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on evidential deficiency in the Katharine Gun case.

Harriet Harman: The decision to offer no further evidence against Katharine Gun was made by the Crown Prosecution Service as an independent prosecuting authority. It was made solely on legal grounds and in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
	There was, in the Gun case, a clear prima facie breach of section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1989. However, senior treasury counsel advised that there was no longer a realistic prospect of convicting Ms Gun. The Director of Public Prosecutions agreed. The evidential deficiency arose from the prosecution's inability, within the current statutory framework, to disprove the defence of necessity in this case.

Rape

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Solicitor-General what assessment she has made of the effects of the new test of reasonableness introduced into the law of consent on the number of convictions of those guilty of rape.

Harriet Harman: The Government introduced the Sexual Offences Act 2003, as one of a number of steps to improve the conviction rate for rape. Under the new Act, the test will be whether a person has a reasonable belief that the victim consented taking into account all the circumstances, including any steps he took to ascertain whether the victim consented. The Government believe that this will have an impact on rape trials because the defendant must be certain that there is consent to the sexual activity at the time in question.
	We expect the Act will to come into force in May.

Fraud

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Solicitor-General what further plans she has to assist small businesses in combating fraud.

Harriet Harman: The Serious Fraud Office will be addressing the Federation of Small Businesses at their conference in Blackpool on 19 March on the subject of 'Preventing fraud in your business'.

TRANSPORT

Bus Interchange (Chorley)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much Government grant went to the new bus interchange at Chorley; and what percentage of the cost this represented.

Tony McNulty: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 4 March 2004, Official Report, column 1131W.

Car Ownership

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the UK population (a) owned a car 20 years ago and (b) own a car today.

David Jamieson: Surveys show the proportion of households in GB owning one or more cars rising from 60 per cent. in 1981 to 74 per cent. of all households in 2001, the latest year for which this information is published.
	This corresponds to 27 cars per hundred people in 1981 and 42 cars per hundred people in 2001.

Crossrail

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the Montague Report on Crossrail.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the Crossrail project;
	(2)  how much public money will be spent on the Crossrail project;
	(3)  what plans there are for the cost of tickets on Crossrail services;
	(4)  what the total cost of the Crossrail project is expected to be.

Tony McNulty: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, is currently considering Adrian Montague's detailed advice on Crossrail and will publish his findings in due course.

Cycle Helmets

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect on numbers of cycle journeys should cycle helmets be made compulsory.

David Jamieson: My Department commissioned research on the effectiveness of cycle helmets, including the relative risk of injury to cyclists with and without helmets, by way of a literature review, and this was published in November 2002 (Road Safety Research Report No. 30), a copy of which was placed in the Library. The conclusion from the review was that helmets have been found to be effective at reducing the incidence and severity of head, brain and upper facial injury, particularly for children. The report also concludes that there is evidence that compulsory helmet wearing may discourage some bicyclists leading to decreased bicycle use.
	In addition to the periodic monitoring we carry out of the wearing rates for cycling helmets, we plan to initiate further research to explore the possible relationship between cycling casualties and cycling levels.

Heathrow

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the review of operations at Heathrow to establish the practicality and impact of mixed mode operation will include a review of existing noise preferential departure routes.

Tony McNulty: The further work announced in "The Future Development of Air Transport White Paper", which includes consideration of how to make the most of Heathrow's existing two runways, may involve review of some existing noise preferential departure routes, but the extent to which this may be necessary will only become clear as the work proceeds. Noise preferential routes may in future need to be reviewed in any event in the light of the "Single Sky" proposals. Any changes which might have a significant effect on the level or distribution of noise and emissions would require prior consultation.

High-speed Rail Lines

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans the Government has for new high speed rail lines.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Members for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) and for Luton, North (Mr. Hopkins) on 9 March 2004, Official Report, columns 1407–08W.

Motorised Scooters

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) deaths and (b) injuries have been recorded as a result of accidents involving motorised scooters in 2003.

David Jamieson: The information requested is not available.

Network Rail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for the future of Network Rail.

Tony McNulty: Network Rail is a private company and, subject to its regulatory regime, its future activities are a matter for the company to determine rather than my right hon. Friend.

Network Rail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  for how long the Government expect to continue subsidising Network Rail;
	(2)  what Government subsidies are given to rail operators, other than those which are given to Network Rail.

Tony McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority provides financial support for passenger and freight operating companies as well as to Network Rail, The Department for Transport also makes grant payments to London and Continental Railways Ltd. in respect of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Full details of this support is set out in the SRA's Annual Report and in National Rail Trends. Copies of these publications are in the Library of the House.
	Forecast future Government support for the rail industry is set out in the progress report on the "Transport 10 Year Plan" which was published by the Department in December 2002. These forecasts are being reviewed and updated as part of the 2004 spending review.

Powered Two-wheelers

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many powered two-wheeler users involved in accidents were (a) killed and (b) seriously injured during 2003; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The figures for 2003 are not yet available. In 2002, 609 Two-Wheeled Motor Vehicle users were killed and 6,891 seriously injured. These statistics have been published in Road Casualties Great Britain 2002Annual Report, a copy of which has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Project Funding

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many (a) solely state-financed and (b) public-private partnership and private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible have been launched in each region in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how much was spent by (a) the Government on solely state-financed projects and (b) the (i) Government and (ii) private sector on public-private and private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible in each of the last 10 years, broken down by region.

Tony McNulty: An analysis of transport spending (including current spending) is published in Chapter 8 of Public Expenditure and Statistical Analysis (PESA) 2003 on the Treasury website: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media//C6E3A7pesa 03 indexed.pdf.
	In respect of road projects, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Newport, West (Paul Flynn) on 11 March 2004, Official Report, column 1640W. Information on other government supported transport projects broken down by region over the last 10 years is not held centrally by the Department.
	In respect of private finance initiative projects, a list of signed projects is available on the Treasury website: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/public private partnerships/ppp pfi stats.cfm.
	This can be searched by Department and region.

Public Transport

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what publicity campaigns his Department has planned to encourage more people to use public transport.

Tony McNulty: Publicity campaigns to encourage use of public transport are generally taken forward by individual transport operators. The Department has focused on the provision of better transport information and in increasing consumer choice in our publicity campaigns. We have promoted traveline, a public information number giving route and timetable information for journeys by bus, coach, train, tram, ferry and metro and will shortly be launching and promoting Transport Direct an interactive journey planner covering all major forms of transport.
	Last September, the Department, together with the Department for Education, also announced a school travel campaign aimed at tackling congestion around the school run. This involves substantial funding to allow local authorities to recruit school travel advisers and publication of an 'Action Plan' to help schools promote safe and healthy travel to school. In addition, we have also worked with consumer and lifestyle press to stimulate publicity on school travel, encouraging alternatives to the use of the car.

Railways

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will list the stations at which selective door opening is permitted (a) under grandfather rights and (b) since privatisation;
	(2)  for what reasons stations at which selective door opening is permitted under grandfather rights for certain types of rolling stock cannot be extended to other rolling stock fitted with a suitable door control mechanism;
	(3)  for what reasons new trains fitted with selective door opening systems are only permitted to use these if the driver cabs are fitted with GPS.
	(4)  for what reasons train drivers are required to use GPS in addition to visual checks to establish their location on station platforms.

Tony McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority is preparing a list of stations where selective door opening is permitted, a copy of which will be placed in the House Library shortly. All cases of selective door opening have been introduced since privatisation.
	The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advise that rolling stock fitted with selective door opening is permitted to stop at stations with short platforms, provided the train operator sets out how the risks associated with selective door opening usage will be managed.
	The HSE does not require that train operators using selective door opening make use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS). However, I understand that, on there own initiative, South Central Trains and South East Trains are currently using GPS technology in automatic selective door opening pilot trials.

Road Accidents (Lincolnshire)

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) deaths and (b) serious injuries there were in road traffic accidents in (i) North East Lincolnshire, (ii) North Lincolnshire and (iii) Lincolnshire in each year since 1997.

David Jamieson: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		Casualties from road accidents: 19972002
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 North East Lincolnshire   
			 Killed 8 7 9 11 5 1 
			 Seriously injured 127 136 116 113 132 120 
			
			 North Lincolnshire   
			 Killed 26 18 14 9 22 9 
			 Seriously injured 134 149 109 120 156 123 
			
			 Lincolnshire   
			 Killed 77 83 104 71 84 91 
			 Seriously injured 678 701 662 520 530 645

Speed/Safety Camera Partnerships

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will require Safety Camera Partnerships to release funding for local road safety projects, with particular reference to the police-led BikeSafe initiative; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Receipts from speed camera fines in areas participating in the safety camera cost recovery scheme may be used only on the installation and operation of approved safety camera installations. BikeSafe is not exclusively a speed or safety camera related issue and therefore falls outside the remit of the cost recovery scheme. The rules of the scheme are kept under review.

Speed/Safety Camera Partnerships

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his oral answer of 3 February 2004, Official Report, column 615 and the answer of 4 February 2004, Official Report, column 993W, on speed cameras, if he will make a statement on the use that has been made of the revenue from speed cameras in Southend.

David Jamieson: holding answer 12 March 2004
	Receipts from speed camera fines in areas participating in the safety camera cost recovery scheme may be used only on the installation and operation of approved safety camera installations.

Speed/Safety Camera Partnerships

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of fees from speed cameras in Suffolk was reinvested in road safety measures in each of the last five years.

David Jamieson: Suffolk has been participating in the safety camera cost recovery scheme since April 2003. Receipts from safety camera fines resulting in areas participating in the scheme may be used only for the installation and operation of approved safety camera installations, with other investment in road safety measures being funded within local authorities and national road programmes. Fine receipts beyond the costs of safety camera installations are passed to the Consolidated Fund. Before Suffolk joined the cost recovery scheme in April 2003, all fine revenue from camera activity was passed to the Consolidated Fund.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Carers Grant

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were receiving funding from the Carers Grant (a) in England and (b) broken down by local authority in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: I have been asked to reply.
	The Carers Grant, which was introduced in 19992000, gives money to local councils to support them in providing short breaks for carers. Data are not available for the first year of the grant. Figures for 200001, 200102, and 200203 have been placed in the Library.

Departmental Computer Misuse

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases of computer misuse there were in his Department (a) in 1997 and (b) since 200203, broken down by each category of misuse; and how many of those cases resulted in disciplinary action.

Des Browne: The Department treats very seriously any suspicion of misuse of computer systems by staff and takes firm action in any cases that arise. All such cases, if proven, result in disciplinary action being taken against the offender leading to either a disciplinary penalty or dismissal.
	Data relating to 1997 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Tables provided as follows detail the number of cases formally investigated and proven by category for 200203 and 200304. All these cases have resulted in, or are in the process of having disciplinary action taken.
	
		Computer misuse 200203
		
			 Category Number 
		
		
			 Unauthorised access to computer systems 29 
			 Use of unauthorised software 3 
			 Manipulation of computer systems 2 
		
	
	
		Computer misuse 200304
		
			 Category Number 
		
		
			 Unauthorised access to computer systems 31 
			 Use of unauthorised software 8 
			 Manipulation of computer systems 0 
		
	
	The figures provided for 200304 cover the year to date and represent proven cases. Several investigations are ongoing, but have not been included, as the results are not known yet.
	Excludes minor cases handled locally.

Departmental Sickness Absence

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress he has made on reducing his Department's sickness absence rate; what baseline figure was used to assess his Department's compliance with its Public Service Agreement target on reducing sickness rates; what the rate was in each of the last seven years; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The Department for Work and Pensions has a Service Delivery Agreement for reducing sickness absence. This is nine days over the year to December 2004 and 8.5 days over the year to December 2005, as interim targets towards the key indicator of eight days to 2006. The Department is committed to increasing its level of attendance to meet this challenge.
	To secure improvements the Department has launched a managing attendance strategy that combines a policy drawn from recognised best practice, with initiatives targeting specific areas. The initiatives include the following:
	a scrutiny of long-term absence cases to draw out any lessons that can be learned from these cases and for the necessary action to be followed through;
	pilots in five Jobcentre Plus districts focusing on early intervention by Occupational Health nurses to help avoid absences becoming long term;
	Well Being at Work pilots which aim to contribute to the well being of the organisation by identifying and tackling stress (as part of a wider Health and Safety Executive pilot);
	an evaluation of the Attendance Management policy. This will complement the National Audit Office study that is currently taking place of the Department's Attendance Management policy.
	The information requested on the Department's sickness absence rate is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.
	
		Sickness absence information for DWP and the former DSS
		
			 Department Year Average number of working days lost 
		
		
			 DSS 19992000 12.0 
			 DSS 200001 12.3 
			 DSS 200102 11.2 
			 DWP 200203 12.3 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was created in June 2001. Due to the migration of businesses into and out of the newly forming Department, and differences in calculation methods, figures for the Department as a whole are only available from April 2002.
	2. The information in Table 1 covers the years April 1999 to March 2002 relating to the former Department of Social Security (DSS), the main predecessor Department in place prior to the formation of DWP, and for DWP for April 2002 to March 2003.
	3. Figures have been provided for DSS and DWP for each full operational year since 1999. Sickness absence information for the current year, April 2003 to March 2004, will be available in spring 2004.

IT Contracts

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list information technology contracts in his Department with a value of above 20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

Des Browne: This question covers periods prior to the establishment in June 2001 of the Department for Work and Pensions, formed from the Employment Service (ES) and the Department for Social Security (DSS).
	This information relates to contractual arrangements made by the Department for Work and Pensions, as well as the former ES and DSS.
	On the question of de-bugging, the view is that no system is completely free of bugs. However, the Department deals with these according to priority, working in partnership with private sector providers to eradicate on an on-going basis.
	
		Contracts identified in relation to this question
		
			 Contract Description Inception date Date fully functional Cost over-runs 
		
		
			 IT Partnership Agreement Employment Service outsourced its IT work through a partnership agreement with Electronic Data Systems (EDS) This agreement was revised to reflect major new investment in IT and telephony to improve services for jobless people and employers in the Modernising Employment Service (MES) Project. This project was further revised from August 2003, and re-named Digital Office Infrastructure CompletionDOI(C), bringing former ES staff a desktop PC consistent with the rest of the DWP estate. August 1998(original outsourcing) October 2000(MES) August 2003(DOI (C) August 1998 DOI-C estimated to be complete by May 2004 None 
			 ACCORD Strategic Outsourcing Business Allocation The DSS awarded a contract to outsource its IT provision. This contract also encompasses business outsourced previously in 1995 under FOCUS 95 arrangements and is concerned with the maintenance, development and operation of the Department's existing IT systems. August 2000 September 2000 None 
			 Child Support Reforms The DSS awarded the contract to provide new IT systems in support of the Child Support Agency. The system became functional on 27 January 2003, for new child support claims processed under old scheme rules. Processing claims under new rules began on March 2003. Further work is still required before the system will be fully functional. Within the terms of the PFI based contract, the primary responsibility for the quality of the computer service lies with EDS.They have pledged to bear the costs of completing their obligations and bringing the service to an agreed level. The Department is currently retaining around 15 per cent. of each monthly payment due to the service provider. August 2000 Functional from January 2003 The amount DWP will pay is currently forecast to rise by 7 per cent. over the term of the contract. 
			 New Tax Credits NTC This contract is for the delivery of new and amended DWP IT to enable joint working with the Inland Revenue and their Tax Credits system and to reflect the changes in benefit rules resulting from the introduction of NTC. December 2000 April 2003 None 
			 Pensions Forecasting This contract is for the delivery of a new pensions forecasting system, providing individuals with clear and accurate information about their retirement pension and raising awareness of the importance of making adequate provision for retirement. June 2002 September 2004 Unable to identify any cost over- run at this stage as the project is not yet complete. 
			 Pensions Credit Front End This contract is for the delivery of a tele-application to support the processingand administrationof claims to Pensions Credit. April 2003 October 2003 None 
			 Corporate Curam Licences This contract relates to the use of a perpetual software licence and provision for support, initially for arrangements for the Customer Management System, but will be extended to other projects over time. May 2003 N/Athis is a licensing contract. None 
			 Customer Management System Release 1 This contract represents a front-end information gathering system for working age customers. Support arrangements are to be provided under the Corporate Curam Licence contract. December 2002 September 2003 None 
			 Customer Management System Release 2 As above. August 2003 This release is still under development. Unable to identify any cost over-run at this stage as the project is not yet complete. 
			 Digital Office Infrastructure (DOI) (formerly known as Early Office Infrastructure(EOI)) These are a series of contracts to replace the desktops and associated equipment for the Department's employees and eventually, the support arrangements for that kit  These are IT service contracts and not development. There have been a number of contract changes to build volumes and functionality. Unable to identify any cost over-run at this stage as the project is not yet complete. 
			  (i) Mobilisation contract to build the infrastructure for the support; January 2001   
			  (ii) Roll out contracts to manage the implementation of the kit and associated equipment; July 2001   
			  (iii) Distribution, Implementation and Disposal Services. July 2001   
			 FOCUS Lots B, C and D These are outsourcing contracts let for the support and implementation of Office Services to SEMA Group UK Ltd (Lots B and C) and International Computers Ltd. (Lot D). June 1995 Contracts transferred to Arcway in August 2000 under the ACCORD framework. June 1995; these are IT service contracts. None 
			 Stand Alone Support Applications This contract was let for the development, implementation, and support of the former DSS stand-alone support application systems. August 1997 Development has been undertaken on a system-by- system basis, as and when required. Support arrangements are on-going for the duration of the contract. None 
			 Network and Office Service ProvisionWide Area Network This contract has been let to replace the Wide Area Network across the former DSS estate. There have been a number of contract changes to meet additional requirements. November 2000 Estimated to be June 2004. Unable to identify any cost over-run at this stage as the project is not complete. 
			 Advanced Telephony This is a contract with BT plc for contact centre services, encompassing the provision, installation, support and maintenance of telephony and associated IT infrastructure. March 2003 Some of the services are operational; others are in the implementation phase None 
		
	
	A list of IT contracts current at the time of FOCUS 95 outsourcing has been placed in the Library. It is not possible to provide information prior to 1995, as this could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether it is his policy that a person who has been offered a job subject to Criminal Records Bureau checks is available for work for the purpose of Jobseeker's Allowance.

Chris Pond: Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) provides financial support to jobseekers during periods of unemployment. The main conditions for receiving JSA therefore concentrate on the requirement to be actively seeking and available for work.
	A customer who has been offered employment, and is awaiting the outcome of Criminal Records Bureau checks, must continue to satisfy these and other conditions of entitlement in order to receive JSA. Customers can however restrict their availability for the period in question by making themselves available for temporary work only, pending the result of the check.

Pensions

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what proportion of people in employment and aged between (a) 18 and 25, (b) 25 and 40, (c) 40 and 55 and (d) 55 and 65 are in active membership of an occupational pension scheme;
	(2)  what proportion of those aged between 18 and 65 in employment are in active membership of occupational pension schemes.

Malcolm Wicks: The information available is in the table.
	
		
			 Age Proportion currently contributing (percentage) 
		
		
			 (a) 1825 19 
			 (b) 2540 51 
			 (c) 4055 60 
			 (d) 5565 45 
			 All aged 1865 49 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Those who are 'contributing' are members of a private occupational scheme.
	2. All figures are estimates and are taken from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). 200203 is the latest year for which data are available. The coverage of the survey is GB.
	3. Working age has been defined as 1865.
	Source:
	Family Resources Survey 2002/03.

Pensions

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of current member-nominated trustees of occupational pension schemes are (a) in receipt of pension benefits from that scheme, (b) managers employed by the company sponsoring the scheme and (c) trade union representatives.

Malcolm Wicks: According to the Employers' Pension Provision survey 2000, about 6 per cent. of pension scheme trustees are in receipt of a pension from the scheme. The remaining information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Pensions

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of those aged between 18 and 65 in employment are in active membership of occupational pension schemes where the employer makes a contribution beyond that in respect of any national insurance rebates.

Malcolm Wicks: Information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is given in Table 5.22 of Employers Pension Provision Survey 2000 (DWP Research Report No. 163), a copy of which is available in the Library.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Parish Priests

Anne McIntosh: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners pursuant to his answer of 11 March 2004, Official Report, column 1633W, on parish priest salaries, how many parish priests were employed in (a) 199697 and (b) 200304.

Stuart Bell: In 1997 there were 9,243 clergy in post in parishes. In 2002 the equivalent figure was 8,503. Figures for 2003 will be available shortly.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Chevening Scholarships

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Chevening scholarships were awarded in each of the last three years, broken down by country of origin of students.

Chris Mullin: Numbers of Chevening scholarships awarded in the last three years have been: 2,285 in 200001, 2,284 in 200102, 2,390 in 200203. In each year the scholars were drawn from more than 150 countries, territories and regions. I will send the breakdown by country to the hon. Member, and I will place a copy in the Library of the House.

Chevening Scholarships

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to enable students who are exiled from their own country to be able to bid for Chevening scholarships.

Chris Mullin: While candidates for Chevening scholarships are normally required to apply in their countries of origin and to return there after completing their studies, we would not exclude applications from candidates who are outside their countries of origin. All applications are considered on their merits.

Colombia

Richard Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the Colombian Government fulfils its duty to provide secure working conditions for national and international human rights and humanitarian organisations in Colombia.

Bill Rammell: We fully support the work of national and international NGOs and humanitarian organisations in Colombia. The London Declaration of July 2003 and Conclusions on Colombia at the most recent meeting of the European General Affairs and External Relations Council in January 2004 both highlight the vital role played by civil society in that country. We have also funded four human rights defender posts in areas of Colombia worst affected by the conflict. Their work is vital in ensuring that human rights and humanitarian organisations have secure working conditions. Our embassy in Bogota is in regular contact with the offices of the Vice-President and the Human Rights Ombudsman, and regularly raises with both of them specific cases of threats to, and harassment of, NGOs working in Colombia.

Colombia

Richard Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the statement by the Colombian President, on the activities of the lawyers' collective, Jose Alvear Restrepo.

Bill Rammell: The UK has highlighted the vital role of NGOs in Colombia on many occasions, including in the London Declaration of July 2003, and successive conclusions of the European General Affairs and External Relations Council. Such statements call on the Colombian Government to respect the work of civil society and to provide adequate protection and security for those working in such organisations. Regarding the Colectivo de Abogados Jose Alvear Restrepo (CDAJAR), we have great respect for the work of this organisation. The Deputy Head of Mission at our embassy in Bogota last called on them on 4 March 2004.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter to him from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated 19 January with regard to Mrs. M. Sam.

Chris Mullin: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary replied on 16 February.

Correspondence

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will answer the letter to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Small Business and Enterprise from the hon. and learned Member for Harborough dated 4 August 2003 on behalf of Mr. G. Costello of Oadby, which was forwarded to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Trade by the Department of Trade and Industry on 5 August 2003.

Mike O'Brien: A reply has now been sent to the hon. and learned Member.

Guinea

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent surveys have been conducted into the refugee situation in Guinea; what conclusions he has drawn; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: The UN Organisation for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Government of Guinea have recently carried out a survey of refugees around the Guinean/Ivorian border. The UN OCHA has recommended that the humanitarian agencies and Guinean Government produce a co-ordinated assessment of the entire refugee problem. The findings from this should inform a wider strategy for refugees and lead to the creation of a National Humanitarian Action Plan.
	The UK has committed 1.5 million to Guinea through the Consolidated Appeal Process, split between the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, the United Nations Children Fund and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

International Law

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps the Law Officers have taken to secure the strengthening of international law relating to justifiable intervention in tyrannical regimes; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The Law Officers have taken no recent steps in this area, which is primarily the responsibility of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
	Under international law, force may be used provided that its use is in exercise of the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence as recognised in Article 51 of the UN Charter; or is authorised by the United Nations Security Council under Chapter VII of the UN Charter; orin exceptional circumstancesis the only way to avert an overwhelming humanitarian catastrophe.
	The Government put forward proposals in 1999 to assist the Security Council in reaching decisions on when intervention is justified on humanitarian grounds. Although agreement was not reached in the Security Council at that time, we have continued to take an active part in an international debate on this issue and regularly discuss it with partners. There have been many other contributions to this debate, notably by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty in its report The Responsibility to Protect.
	In this context, we welcome the UN Secretary-General's decision to set up a High Level Panel to review how the UN can respond more effectively to threats to international peace and security, including considering whether any institutional changes are required.

Iraq

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of people employed by private security companies (a) on behalf of the coalition in Iraq and (b) by the United Kingdom in Iraq.

Bill Rammell: Around 215 people are employed by private security companies on behalf of the Government in Iraq. We have not estimated the number of people employed by private security companies on behalf of the coalition as a whole in Iraq.

Iraq

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the employment practices are of the veterinary directorate in Iraq; whether known opponents of the former regime are excluded for political reasons; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The employment practices of the Iraqi veterinary directorate in the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture are a matter for the Iraqi Minister of Agriculture.
	We have used our influence, however, to ensure that there are safeguards in law for Iraqi employees. The Transitional Administrative Law agreed by the Iraqi Governing Council on 8 March 2004 enshrines the equality of all Iraqis and forbids discrimination on the basis of gender, nationality, religion or origin. It also establishes the right to form and join trade unions and the right to demonstrate and to strike peaceably. We are discussing with representatives from the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions how the Government can best help the growth of the Trades Union Movement in Iraq.

Iraq

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to maximise UN involvement in (a) the administration of Iraq and (b) the development of constitutional arrangements for an autonomous Kurdish region within an overall federal solution.

Bill Rammell: United Nation's Security Council Resolutions 1483 and 1511 envisaged a major role for the UN in building a secure future for Iraq. In particular, they mandated the UN to co-ordinate humanitarian and reconstruction assistance and to work with the Coalition Provisional Authority and the people of Iraq in developing new representative systems of government. We strongly support the re-engagement of the UN in Iraq and stand ready with our coalition partners to provide security for UN personnel and premises. We believe the UN has a vital role to play in helping to forge a consensus among Iraqis on the best way to establish an Interim Government after 30 June 2004 and in preparing for elections in early 2005.
	Federal issues are a matter for Iraqis to decide, including the degree of UN involvement. They will do so in the Transitional National Assembly to be elected in early 2005 and in a referendum on the draft constitution due later that year. The Transitional Administrative Law agreed by the Iraqi Governing Council on March 8 2004 recognises the administrative and legislative functions of the Kurdistan Regional Government. It also enshrines the principle that any federal system will not be based on ethnic or sectarian lines. But it leaves the final form of any federal structure to Iraqi democratic institutions to decide.

Kyrgyzstan

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why there is no UK embassy in Kyrgyzstan; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We regret that financial constraints currently prevent the opening of an embassy in Kyrgyzstan. However, we still hope to appoint a locally-engaged member of staff from our embassy in Almaty, Kazakhstan, to the DflD office in Bishkek.
	We have had to contend with competing demands across the Former Soviet Union where we have sought to expand operations in virtually all aspects of mission activity, including counter-narcotics co-operation, good governance, and aid. This increased activity has severely stretched our budgets.
	In the meantime, we will continue to give our ambassador and his staff in Almaty all the help and support we can to complement the sterling efforts they are making.

TREASURY

Citizen Information Project

Mark Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  on what date the Citizen Information Project feasibility study was submitted to Ministers; when he expects the Office for National Statistics to publish the full text of the study; what the reason is for the delay in publication; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what form public consultation on the Citizen Information Project proposals will take; and on what timescale.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the General Registrar for England and Wales, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Oaten, dated 18 March 2004
	As Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions on the Citizen Information Project (162391 and 162392),
	A report on the Citizen Information Project feasibility study was presented to Ministers in June 2003. A full information note on the Citizen Information Project was published on 6 January 2004. A copy was placed in the Library of the House. At the same time I announced that Ministers had approved a 'project definition1 stage of development work. The project definition stage is now under way and I expect to report to Ministers in 2005 on whether or not this work should proceed to implementation.
	Public consultation on the Citizen Information Project proposals is provisionally scheduled for the autumn of 2004. It will be conducted in line with Cabinet Office guidelines, as published by the Regulatory Impact Unit in January 2004.

Employment (Chorley)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new jobs have been created in Chorley since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Lindsay Hoyle, dated 16 March 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about new jobs created in Chorley since 1997. (161447)
	No information is explicitly available about numbers of new jobs created during this period.
	However, statistics from surveys enable comparisons to be made of net changes, from year to year.
	The attached table shows the number of jobs in Chorley Parliamentary Constituency (which covers the same area as Chorley Local Authority District) in each year from 1997 to 2002, the latest year for which information is available.
	
		Number of jobs(1) in Chorley parliamentary constituency, 19972002
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 30,400 
			 1998 31,400 
			 1999 31,900 
			 2000 32,000 
			 2001 37,500 
			 2002 39,900 
			 Change from 1997 to 2002 9.500 
		
	
	(1) Employee jobs only, not self-employed jobs.
	Source:
	1997: Annual Employment Survey, rescaled.
	2002: Annual Business Inquiry (ABI).

Income Statistics

Alan Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many taxpayers there are with an income of less than (a) 5,000, (b) 10,000, (c) 15,000, (d) 20,000, (e) 23,000 and (f) 30,500.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my right hon. Friend to table 2.5 on the Inland Revenue website http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/income tax/table-25.pdf.

Income Statistics

Alan Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the average first-time earner's tax liability was in each of their first three years of paying income tax over the last five years.
	(2)  what the total income tax proceeds from first-time earners was in the last fiscal year for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: I regret that the information requested is not available.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Access to Government (Code of Practice)

Llew Smith: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs when his Department expects to publish the monitoring report on application of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information for 2003; and what plans he has to publicise the report on its publication.

David Lammy: The Government hope to be in a position to publish the monitoring report for the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information for the year 2003 by August 2004.
	As in previous years, the publication of the monitoring report will be publicised by way of an announcement in both Houses together with a press release and will be available in full on the Department for Constitutional Affairs' website.

Data Protection

Christopher Chope: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  if he will make it his policy to bring forward amendments to the Data Protection Act 1998 (a) to prevent the Information Commissioner from profiting from the actions of bogus collectors and (b) to enable the Information Commissioner to take legal action against unauthorised collections;
	(2)  pursuant to his answers of 3 March 2004, references 157599 and 157589, how many of the successful legal actions were (a) civil and (b) criminal; how many were initiated by (i) the Office of Fair Trading, (ii) trading standards officers and (iii) the police; and in respect of each, what the penalties were;
	(3)  for what reasons it is not possible for the Commissioner to assess from documentation submitted through bogus agencies whether a notification is mandatory or voluntary; and if he will make it his policy that such ambiguous documentation is returned for clarification prior to registration.

David Lammy: The Commissioner does not profit from the actions of bogus collectors. His office is funded by government grant. It is a requirement of the Data Protection Act 1998 that all fees and other sums received by him in the exercise of his functions under the Act shall be paid to the Secretary of State, who in turn is required to pay them into the Consolidated Fund.
	There are no current plans to amend the 1998 Act to enable the Commissioner to take legal action against unauthorised collectors, but the matter will be kept under review. The prosecuting authority depends on the type of legal action pursued and can be the Office of Fair Trading, Local Trading Standards Department or the Police.
	I understand that there have to date been five successful legal actions initiated against these companies: four civil and one criminal. In the civil actions, the Office of Fair Trading has obtained final injunctions against companies and individuals under the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations. It has also obtained written assurances (in lieu of court action) from 14 other individuals and companies that they would no longer be involved with the publication of misleading advertisements about data protection notification services. The criminal action involved a prosecution initiated by Brent and Harrow Trading Standards Service against a company and its director under section 14 of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. Fines totalling 3,500 were imposed, plus 850 in prosecution costs.
	Section 16 of the 1998 Act sets out the registrable particulars which must be included in a valid application for notification. The Commissioner's own application form asks data controllers to indicate whether they consider that they are exempt but have decided to notify voluntarily. As this question is not mandatory, the Commissioner would not and could not refuse to accept an application simply because the question had not been answered. The applications submitted by the agencies do not include this non-mandatory question.

Enforcement Agents

Andy King: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the fines officers working in the pilot enforcement programmes in (a) Cambridgeshire, (b) Cheshire, (c) Cumbria, (d) Devon and Cornwall, (e) Gloucester and (f) South Yorkshire implementing the Courts Act 2003 have been informed about the procedures covering vulnerable situations set out on page nine of the National Standards for Enforcement Agents issued by the Lord Chancellor's Department in April 2002.

Christopher Leslie: All Fines Officers in the local pilots areas have been recruited from existing staff, to whom the National Standards for Enforcement Agents was issued in May 2002. This guidance, together with general guidance (Transfer of responsibility for warrant execution: Guidance notes, chapter 7 Vulnerable people) issued by the then Lord Chancellor's Department in March 2001, will also be drawn to the attention of any new recruitsincluding fines officers, court clerks and enforcement agents, as part of their induction training. It is also included in follow-up training.

Legal Aid (Northern Ireland)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what proportion of the Department's legal aid budget has been spent in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years.

Christopher Leslie: There are separate budgets for legal aid in England and Wales (which is managed by the Department for Constitutional Affairs) and Northern Ireland (which is managed by the Northern Ireland Court Service). During the years 199899 to 200102 expenditure on legal aid was as follows.
	 million
	
		
			  England and Wales Northern Ireland 
		
		
			 199899 1,684.0 32.7 
			 19992000 1,616.5 37.3 
			 200001 1,736.8 40.6 
			 200102 1,788.5 44.8 
			 200203 1,982.0 (2)48.5 
		
	
	(2) Subject to audit.

Northern Ireland Court Service

Seamus Mallon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many posts have been advertised by the Northern Ireland Court Service in the last five years; and how many were reserved, broken down by grade equivalent in the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

Christopher Leslie: Posts advertised in the last five years may be broken down as follows:
	
		
			 Numberof posts NI Court Servicegrade Equivalent NICSgrade Reserved/NonReserved 
		
		
			 1999  
			 54 Level 4 Administrative Officer Administrative Assistant/Officer 48 Reserved/6 Non reserved(3) 
			 1 Level 2-Human Resource Unit Deputy Principal Reserved 
			 7 Level 4-Customer Service Officer Support Grade Band II Reserved/Non Reserved(3) 
			 3 Level 4 Tipstaff/Court Crier Support Grade Band I and II Reserved 
			 1 Level 4-Typist Typist Non Reserved 
			 1 Level 2A-Accountant Deputy Principal Reserved 
			 
			 2000
			 1 Level 4-Customer Services Officer Support Grade Band 1-Telephonist Non-Reserved 
			 1 Level 4-Customer Services Officer (Amagh) Support Grade Band II-Messenger Non-Reserved 
			 1 Director of Legal Aid Grade 5 Senior Civil Service Reserved 
			  Total number of posts 3 
			 
			 2001
			 1 Level 4-Customer Services Officer Support Grade Band 1-Telephonist Non-Reserved 
			 1 Level 2A-Accountant Deputy Principle-Accountant Reserved 
			 1 Level 2B-Librarian Staff Officer-Librarian Reserved 
			 3 Level 2A-Legal Officer Deputy Principal Legal Officer Reserved 
			 1 Level 1-Human Resource Manager Principal Officer-Grade 7 Reserved 
			 1 Director of NI Court Service Grade 3-Senior Civil Service Reserved 
			  Total number of posts 8 
			 
			 2002
			 1 Level 2B-Learning and Development Officer Staff Officer Non Reserved 
			 5 Level 4-Court Crier/Tipstaff Support Grade 1 and 2 Reserved 
			 2 Legal 2A-Legal Officer Deputy Principal Legal Officer Reserved 
			 1 Level 3-Assistant Librarian Executive Officer Non Reserved 
			 2 Level 1-Accountant Principle Officer-Grade 7 Accountant Reserved 
			 156 Level 4-Administrative Officer Administrative/Assistant Officer 136 Reserved/26 Non Reserved(3) 
			 4 Level 4-Typist Typist Non Reserved(3) 
			  Total number of posts 171 
			 
			 2003
			 2 Level 4-Customer Service Officer Support Grade Band II Non Reserved 
			 5 Level 2A-Legal Officer Deputy Principal-Legal Officer Reserved 
			 2 Level 1-Legal Principal Officer-Grade 7 Legal Reserved 
			 2 Level 2A-Accountant Deputy Principal Accountant Reserved 
			 1 Level 2B Website manager Staff Officer Non Reserved 
			  Total number of posts 12 
		
	
	(3) Generic competitions with appointments being made to both reserved and non-reserved posts.

Northern Ireland Court Service

Seamus Mallon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs who in the Northern Ireland Court Service has responsibility for determining whether posts should be reserved.

Christopher Leslie: The Human Resource Manager is responsible for determining whether posts within the Northern Ireland Court Service should be reserved.

Northern Ireland Court Service

Seamus Mallon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the grade equivalent in the Northern Ireland Civil Service is of post of audit manager for the Northern Ireland Court Service as advertised in competition PB/1/04.

Christopher Leslie: The equivalent grade of audit manager in the Northern Ireland Civil Service is Deputy Principal.

Northern Ireland Court Service

Seamus Mallon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs on what grounds it is stated that the post of audit manager for the Northern Ireland Court Service is a reserved post from which Irish nationals are excluded in competition PB/1/04.

Christopher Leslie: The post of audit manager in the Northern Ireland Court Service is reserved in accordance with the Civil Service Nationality Rules on the grounds, inter alia, that the post involves significant contact with the judiciary and access to sensitive informationfor example, the personal records of the judiciary.

Northern Ireland Court Service

Seamus Mallon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs according to what guidance the Northern Ireland Court Service reserves posts; and if he will place a copy of that guidance in the Library.

Christopher Leslie: Posts in the Northern Ireland Court Service are designated as reserved or non-reserved in accordance with the Civil Service Nationality RulesGuidance on Checking Eligibility. The guidance may be located at http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/civilservice/nationality/contents.asp.

Websites

Oliver Heald: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the total annual cost of his Department's websites, including those of its agencies, was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Christopher Leslie: The information requested is listed as follows.
	
		
			 Website Operating costs (200203 unlessotherwise stated)(4)   
		
		
			 Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) www.cafcass.gov.uk (Now the responsibility of the Department for Education and Skills) 2,532 (+ VAT) per month 
			 Civil Justice Council www.civiljusticecouncil.gov.uk (5) 
			 Civil Justice Council Costs Website 3,000 
			 Community Legal ServiceJust Ask www.justask.gov.uk 700,000 (includes staff and development costs) 
			 CLSLegal Services Research Centre 200102: 47 
			 5 
			 Community Legal Service Partnerships www.clsp.net 8,000 start up costs incurred in 2002no further operating costs 
			 Council on Tribunals www.councilontribunals.gov.uk 1,253.30(5) 
			 Court Service www.courtservice.gov.uk (5) 
			 Department for Constitutional Affairs www.dca.gov.uk (5) 
			 Immigration Appellate Authority www.iaa.gov.uk (5) 
			 Judicial Studies Board www.jsboard.co.uk 13,077(5) 
			 Land RegistryMain site www.landreg.gov.uk 12,000 
			 Law Commission www.lawcom.gov.uk 10, 675(5) 
			 Legal Services Commission www.legalservices.gov.uk 126,000 
			 Legal Services Ombudsman www.olso.org 3,151.50 
			 Magistrates Court Service Inspectorate www.mcsi.gov.uk 3,940.13(5) 
			 Northern Ireland Court Service www.courtsni.gov.uk 15,000 (+55,000 start up costs incurred in April 2002) 
			 Official Solicitor and Public Trustee 141 
			 Public Guardianship Office www.guardianship.gov.uk 7,398 
			 National Archives 147,000 
			 National ArchivesOther sites: Family Records; Learning Curve; a2a; Moving Here; Census Complex arrangements with various partners, National Archives contribution assessable only at disproportionate cost 
		
	
	(4) Staff costs are not included (unless otherwise stated), and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	(5) The sites hosted by Cable and Wireless (200205) under a three-year contract. The hosting element of this is 158,796 per annum for a total of eight sites.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Village Halls

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding was given by (a) the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, (b) the Rural Enterprise Scheme and (c) landfill tax to village halls in each of their years of operation.

Alun Michael: Only very partial information is available. I list such information as we have:
	(a) Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund
	The Fund was introduced by the Finance Act 2001 and came into force on 1 April 2002. The levy was set at 1.60 per tonne of aggregates produced. The fund was launched in 2002 and will continue for at least a further three years. The Fund consists of 20 million for England for 200405 and is distributed by a number of organisations including the Countryside Agency, English Heritage, English Nature, and Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Somerset county councils. Information is not collected in a form that permits the total amount of funding for village halls from this source to be established, but, up until last May, at least 70,776 has been distributed to village hall projects.
	(b) Rural Enterprise Scheme
	Funds are available under the Rural Enterprise Scheme (part of the England Rural Development Programme, or Pillar 2 of the Common Agricultural Policy) to help 'renovation and development of villages' and 'basic services for the rural economy and population'. The scheme is selective and is delivered by Defra's Rural Development Service in line with regional budgets and priorities agreed with local partners. Support is provided to village hall and other community projects but disaggregated figures relating solely to village hall projects are not available. Total funding for the relevant two measures is as follows:
	
		
			  000 
		
		
			 200102 126 
			 200203 1,146 
			 200304 (6)3,053 
		
	
	(6)Forecast.
	(c) Landfill Tax Credit Scheme
	Under the Landfill Tax Credit scheme landfill operators can reduce their tax liability by funding environmental or community projects. The scheme is not available to all village halls (the scheme's rules mean that projects have to be within 10 miles of a landfill tax operator's site). Grants are issued through registered environmental bodies and each will have its own priorities. Action for Communities in Rural England estimate that perhaps 1 million has been provided for village hall projects.
	The scheme was reformed from 1 April 2003. Approximately one third of funding (around 47 million) is to be made available through a reformed tax credit scheme for spending on local environment projects. Village halls, where they meet the criteria, will still be able to apply for funding. Government have no involvement in how the funding is spent. As yet, it is not possible to say what proportion will go to support village halls.

Animal Health Act

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she is required to take into account the application of the precautionary principle in assessing the need to make orders under section 29 of the Animal Health Act 1981 to reduce the risk to human health of any disease or organism carried in animals.

Ben Bradshaw: Although there is no universally accepted definition, the Government are committed to using the precautionary principle, which is included in the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. The precautionary principle is one of 10 principles that guide the Government's approach to sustainable development, on which Defra takes the lead. The outline Animal Health and Welfare Strategy issued last July also confirmed that all Government decisions on animal health and welfare should be guided by the precautionary principle.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2004, Official Report, column 380W on badgers, what numerical value she attributes to the phrase a few kilometres; and whether badgers forage from setts a few kilometres outside Krebs areas into farms within those areas and evade trapping.

Ben Bradshaw: It is difficult to attach a numerical value to the distance travelled by foraging badgers as it will vary considerably. Badgers normally forage within their social group territory limits, and the distance they travel to do so will depend on the size of the territory, which will be determined by the availability of food and the quality of the habitat.
	It is possible that badgers from social groups occupying setts outside Randomised Badger Culling Trial areas could forage on farms within them. If they did, they might or might not be captured during trapping operations.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the extent to which badger lobby groups are representative of broader public opinion.

Ben Bradshaw: The recent review of badger licensing procedures was subject of a public consultation to ensure that everyone with an interest in badgers had the opportunity to contribute their views. Furthermore, as part of this exercise, the Department surveyed the views and experiences of 300 randomly selected people who had applied for a licence under the Protection of Badgers Act, 1992 in the previous year.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of badgers killed in road traffic accidents in each of the last five years; and what measures are being taken to reduce the rate.

Ben Bradshaw: There are no figures currently available for the number of badgers killed each year on roads. The most widely quoted estimate, of 50,000 animals each year 1 , relates to the 1980s, but road casualties are probably broadly similar today.
	A four-year pilot project (called 'Mammals on Roads') is currently under way. This aims to carry out a national road kill survey of selected mammal species (including badgers), calibrating road kill numbers with species abundance in various habitats and assessing the power of the survey to detect population change. In the project's June 2003 newsletter, it is reported that in 2001 and 2002 approximately four dead badgers were reported for every 1,000 miles of road surveyed. For more information on the project visit the Tracking Mammals Partnership website at: www.jncc.gov.uk/species/mammals/trackingmammals.
	Advice and guidelines for road builders on how to minimise road casualties are given in the Highways Agency publication:
	Design manual for roads and bridges Volume 10Environmental Design and Management, Section 4Nature Conservation, HA 59/92Mitigating against effects on badgers.
	The manual is available online at: www.official-documents.co.uk/document/deps/ha/dmrb/index.htm.
	1 Harris, S, Cresswell, W Reason, P and Cresswell, P (1992) An integrated approach to monitoring badger (Meles meles) population changes in Britain. In: Wildlife 2001: Populations (eds DR McCollough and RH Barrett), pp 945953. London: Elsevier Applied Science.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of whether TB-diseased badgers bathing in cattle water troughs is a mechanism of TB transmission.

Ben Bradshaw: There is no evidence that badgers bathe in cattle water troughs, although ongoing research by the Central Science Laboratory indicates that they may drink from them. This research, which will report to Defra in December 2005, will indicate the relative frequency with which badgers visit cattle water troughs, and at what times of year, as a first step towards identifying their role in the risk of transmission of M. bovis from badgers to cattle.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what level of disease in the wild (a) badger and (b) deer population she classes as tolerable.

Ben Bradshaw: It is not currently known what level of infection in either badgers or deer constitutes a threat to their welfare, or a risk to cattle. Consequently, it is not possible to identify a 'tolerable' level in these terms.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what new advice she will give to farmers on the (a) design and (b) positioning of cattle feed troughs following discovery that badgers can access troughs previously thought inaccessible.

Ben Bradshaw: Changes in trough design might be appropriate. Recent work has established that badgers are capable of climbing into feed troughs set at 115cm above ground level, at which height they are inaccessible to cattle. It is also difficult to position troughs so that only cattle can access them, unless they are inside badger-proof buildings. Possibly troughs could be suspended from the ceilings of buildings to deny access by badgers. However, the purpose of many troughs is to provide supplementary feed to cattle at pasture, so badgers are likely to be able to access them wherever they are positioned.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the costs of reducing TB in the wildlife reservoir to a level where it is no longer epidemiologically significant.

Ben Bradshaw: We have not made any estimate of the cost of reducing TB in the wildlife reservoir to a level where it is no longer epidemiologically significant.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her estimate was of the total number of badgers which would be killed during the full implementation of the Krebs trials.

Ben Bradshaw: The Krebs Report suggested that some 12,500 badgers might be taken during a five-year trial, based on the assumption that average badger density is around 5/km 2 . The second report of the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB stated that this figure was likely to be an overestimate, based on experience from the Randomised Culling Trial up to that date.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what incidences have occurred of multiple TB breakdowns in cattle herds on farms neighbouring badger sanctuaries.

Ben Bradshaw: We have insufficient information to answer the question. Defra does not keep a record of the location of badger sanctuaries.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the closed season adopted in the Krebs trials affected the success rate of the trapping operation.

Ben Bradshaw: In its first report (published July 1998), the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB recommended the introduction of a closed season in the Randomised Badger Culling Trial, and advised: Although a closed season from 1 February to 30 April will delay the reactive response to some positive herd tests carried out in the winter, we are confident that the scientific rigour of the trial will be maintained. The Government accepted the Group's recommendation.
	It is not possible to assess the impact that the closed season has had on the success rate of the trapping operation, as there are no control data with which to draw a comparison.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of whether radical changes in farming practices would affect the carrying capacity of the badger habitat, with particular reference to (a) reduction in livestock farming and (b) crops.

Ben Bradshaw: We are not aware of any such assessment having been undertaken.
	In the report Changes in the British badger population, 1988 to 1997 1 it is stated that 'habitat richness' (ie how favoured a habitat is by badgers) is an important factor influencing the distribution and density of badgers.
	Environmental changes, including those brought about by farming practices, can alter habitat richness, and thus have the potential to influence the 'carrying capacity' of a habitat for badgers.
	1 Changes in the British badger population, 1988 to 1997 by G. Wilson, S. Harris and G. McLaren (1997), published by the People's Trust for Endangered Species (ISBN 1 85580 018 7).

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2003, Official Report, column 523W, on badgers, whether the quantification of bird remains in badger dung takes into account the limited seasonal availability to badgers of ground nesting birds; and whether the proportion of bird remains found in fresh badger dung is different between March and June.

Ben Bradshaw: The quantification of bird remains in the diet of the badger mentioned in the answer of 10 December 2003, Official Report, column 523W, does not specifically take into account the seasonality of bird remains in the dung of the badger. The data concerned were collated from already published studies, many of which did not contain sufficient detail to enable such an analysis. Furthermore, it is difficult to come to conclusions regarding the seasonality of bird predation from examining remains in dung as this method cannot differentiate between predation and the scavenging of carcasses.
	Defra is currently funding research on badger predation on ground nesting birds. The project involves a review of current knowledge and intensive field investigations to assess the extent of predation by badgers. The project, which is being undertaken by the Central Science Laboratory, will report its findings in March 2005.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 December 2003, Official Report, columns 21617W, on bovine TB, what the approval requirements are which farmers must meet in order to qualify for multiple pick-up authorisation.

Ben Bradshaw: The conditions under which multiple pick-ups may take place are set out in Annex B of the General Licences for the Movement of Cattle. The licence can be found on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/movements/documents/default.htm.
	An inspection is carried out to ensure that the requirements of the licence can be met. The inspection is carried out either by animal health officers, veterinary officers, temporary veterinary inspectors or local veterinary inspectors and is at Defra's expense.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information she collates on the prevalence of bovine TB in other countries where there is a significant dairy or beef industry.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra has access to the official TB prevalence data routinely submitted by other countries to the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) and other organisations with an interest in this field.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether bovine animals suffering from TB are more infective than badgers at comparable stages of the disease.

Ben Bradshaw: There is no evidence to indicate that badgers and cattle at the same stage of disease differ in their ability to infect other animals. However, the risk of another animal becoming infected will vary depending on many factors, including proximity, amount of organisms being shed, the route of shedding, and challenge route (e.g. ingestion or inhalation) among others.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the M. bovis bacilli is mutating to a less (a) virulent and (b) infective form.

Ben Bradshaw: Molecular typing data of M. bovis isolates provide some support for the hypothesis that expression of an infection event at the herd level varies depending on molecular type. M. bovis will be subject to selective forces like any other organism. However, there is little evidence to suggest that M. bovis is becoming more or less virulent or infective overall.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the issuing of licences to kill badgers under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992; and how many such licences she expects to issue in each of the next five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department is responsible for issuing licences under two separate sub-sections of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 which permit badgers to be killed. These are:
	10(2)(a) for the purpose of preventing the spread of disease, to kill or take badgers, or to interfere with a badger sett, within an area specified in the licence by any means so specified, and
	10(2)(b) for the purpose of preventing serious damage to land, crops, poultry or any other form of property, to kill or take badgers, or to interfere with a badger sett, within an area specified in the licence by any means so specified.
	It is current policy not to issue any licences under sub-section 10(2)(a) to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis, except for animals held in captivity.
	With respect to sub-section 10(2)(b) , licence applications to prevent serious damage are judged on a case by case basis. Licences, irrespective of whether they are to kill, relocate of simply to interfere with a sett will only be issued where:
	there is evidence that serious damage is being or is likely to be caused;
	there are no other practical methods of resolving the problem; and
	the action proposed will be successful in preventing or reducing any damage that might be being caused.
	The Department does not place unnecessary restrictions on the control of badgers where they are causing genuine problems. However, a licence to kill badgers cannot be granted if there are non-lethal methods of preventing the damage available.
	The Department cannot predict how many licences to kill badgers will be issued in each of the next five years. Figures for the last three years are available online at: www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates/statistics/statistics- badger.htm

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of TB breakdowns over the next 10 years that will be prevented by the introduction of pre-and post-movement testing; and what the scientific basis for that estimate is.

Ben Bradshaw: The main potential benefit of introduction of pre and/or post-movement testing is fewer movements of infected animals into low risk areas. It is a precautionary measure that we would expect to reduce the number of new incidents in low risk areas. Uncertainties around the role of wildlife in geographic spread makes it difficult to be certain about the extent of disease control benefits. The Independent Scientific Group has supported the principle of pre-and/or post-movement testing to prevent the spread of disease.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what plans she has made for the establishment of a secure badger testing facility to assist in the development of a badger TB vaccine; and what measures she proposes to take to minimise interference by animal rights activists;
	(2)  what her current estimate is of the size of the facility needed to contain a sufficient number of badgers to enable vaccine studies to be conducted; and what estimate she has made of the (a) cost and (b) annual running cost of such provision.

Ben Bradshaw: No decision has been taken to establish in Great Britain a secure badger testing facility to assist in the development of a badger TB vaccine, but the Government, in December 2003, published the Independent Scientific Group's Vaccine Scoping Study (PB 9102, available from the House of Commons Library) where in Appendix 8, pages 5861, a full account is given of the feasibility, size and costs for providing accommodation for badgers. If the construction of a facility were considered, the police would be asked for their advice on security in order to minimise interference by animal rights activists.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what benefits have accrued from the collaboration between the Veterinary Laboratory Agency and New Zealand researchers in respect of control of bovine TB in the United Kingdom.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra's Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) has active collaborations with researchers in New Zealand working on developing TB vaccines for possums and cattle.
	One benefit of this link is that the efficacy of promising vaccine candidates can be rigorously tested using large groups of cattle in New Zealand. This approach is highly cost effective and is jointly funded by Defra and funding agencies in New Zealand. This work has so far resulted in the identification of a vaccine that is better than the use of BCG (Bacillus Calmette Guerin) in cattle. Another benefit has been that the development and evaluation of new diagnostic tests has been accelerated through this collaboration. A third benefit of the link has been that results from research into TB in possums and cattle in New Zealand is made available to VLA and Defra at an early stage.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of measures to protect farm buildings housing livestock from ingress by badgers in ensuring complete exclusion of badgers from cattle areas;
	(2)  what measures her Department has identified to prevent badgers gaining access to cattle sheds and thence access to cattle feed.

Ben Bradshaw: A Defra-funded study, being carried out by the Central Science Laboratory, is attempting to identify which types of building are most accessible to badgers, and what potential measures could be taken to reduce this phenomenon. Results from this study will be reported in December 2005.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received from the Woodland Trust on the culling of badgers.

Ben Bradshaw: No representations have been received from the Woodland Trust on the culling of badgers.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what records her Department keeps of the (a) number of badgers admitted to animal sanctuaries, (b) number of such animals held in captivity at any one time, (c) number of animals released into the wild and (d) location of those releases.

Ben Bradshaw: If a disabled badger is taken for the sole purpose of tending it (as set down in section 6(a) of the Protection of Badgers Act, 1992) there is no legal requirement to notify the Department, and therefore no records are kept.
	If a badger is taken, kept or released under the authority of a licence issued by Defra, then detailed records of such activities would be held by the licensing authority.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated cost is of the consultation workshops to be carried out in connection with her consultation document on preparing for a new strategy on bovine tuberculosis.

Ben Bradshaw: The estimated cost to Defra of organising regional meetings in England to discuss with stakeholders the issues raised in the consultation document Preparing for a new GB strategy on bovine tuberculosis is 60,000-65,000.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many injuries have been sustained by (a) livestock keepers and (b) their workers while (i) assisting veterinary surgeons in administering TB tests to cattle and (ii) otherwise handling cattle for the purpose of assembling them for testing since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: The Health and Safety Executive do not hold specific data on the number of accidents occurring on farms that can be directly attributed to TB testing.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the feasibility of use of the current BCG vaccination for cattle to damp down the disease as a control option as part of an overall control strategy for reducing the incidence of TB in cattle.

Ben Bradshaw: The feasibility of using BCG to vaccinate cattle against TB was assessed by a sub-group of the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB and a report was published by them in December 2003: Development of vaccines for Bovine Tuberculosis. The conclusion reached was that in its present form, BCG would not provide an effective cattle vaccine.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the implications for the badger population if bovine TB is allowed to spread into previously clean areas.

Ben Bradshaw: Currently there is no information to suggest that bovine TB can regulate badger populations. Evidence from the Central Science Laboratory's study at Woodchester Park suggests that infected badgers can live for many years and still breed successfully.

Badgers/Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the Independent Science Group's recommendations were in respect of gamma interferon testing; and which of those recommendations have been implemented;
	(2)  pursuant to her Oral Answer of 5 February 2004, Official Report, columns 8823, on bovine TB, what the ethical and legal issues involved in the field testing of gamma interferon are.

Ben Bradshaw: The Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB recommended that the gamma-interferon pilot should be expanded into a research project to help clarify the sensitivity and specificity of the bovigam test by taking blood from all cattle in a herd before skin test reactors are sent for slaughter, and again at the 60 day test. They proposed that all animals in the herds should be tested using the bovigam test, even where the experimental protocol would not require the removal of animals which reacted positively to the test. The Group also proposed extending the test to control herds not affected by TB in (a) areas with a TB problem, and (b) low TB-risk areas, but not acting on the information gleaned. In addition the ISG recommended that diagnosis of bovine TB in slaughtered cattle should be carried out using an extended post-mortem examination. These recommendations have not been implemented.
	The ethical issues associated with the ISG's proposals relate to leaving those animals which have given a positive response to a test for bovine TB, on farm. The legal issues relate to taking samples from animals for experimental purposes, rather than for the diagnosis of disease.

Deer (TB Testing)

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what arrangements are in place for TB testing of farmed deer; and whether such testing is compulsory.

Ben Bradshaw: There is no routine statutory TB testing programme for farmed deer. All TB testing of deer, apart from that for imported animals, is carried out at the owner's expense. Arrangements for testing are made between herd owners and their veterinary surgeons.
	The Tuberculosis (Deer) Order 1989, as amended, makes TB in deer a notifiable disease. The owner or person in charge of deer is required to notify the presence of affected or suspected animals to the Divisional Veterinary Manager (DVM) of the State Veterinary Service. Under these circumstances the DVM may require testing of the deer, at the owner's expense.

GM Crops

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the implications of the recently reported deaths of 12 cattle in Hesse, Germany, in a dairy herd fed on GM fodder maize.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 1 March 2004
	I understand that the German authorities have investigated the incident thoroughly and concluded that the deaths, which occurred in 2001 and 2002, were unrelated to the use of GM maize Bt176 in the cows' feed.

GM Crops

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the number of UK local authorities declaring themselves GM-free zones.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 16 March 2004
	We do not collate information on the number of local authorities who declare themselves GM-free zones. Under EU law it is not possible for Governments or local authorities to impose a blanket ban on the use of approved GM products, including the commercial cultivation of approved GM crops.

GM Crops

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2004, Official Report, column 561W, on GM crops, what assessment she has made of the Monsanto GM virus-resistant sweet potatoes grown in Kenya.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 16 March 2004
	No assessment has been made on Monsanto GM virus-resistant sweet potatoes grown in Kenya. Assessments on crops grown in non-EU countries will only be made when an application is made to import the product into the EU. The Kenyan GM sweet potato is however one of the case studies covered in the report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.

Livestock Movements

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated charge to be borne by farmers for pre- and post-movement testing is; and whether there will be an additional veterinary surgeon call-out fee.

Ben Bradshaw: The proposal as set out in the consultation document Preparing for a new GB strategy on bovine TB' is for pre-movement testing of cattle moving from one and two year testing herds to other herds. The resource implications of this proposal will be estimated as part of the consultation process which will involve discussions with veterinary and farming interests.
	The charge, and whether or not there is a call out fee, will depend upon the commercial negotiations between farmers and their veterinarians.

Pesticides

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what other gaseous pesticides were (a) investigated and (b) declared inhumane following an investigation by Porton Down on the use of hydrogen cyanide to gas badgers.

Ben Bradshaw: In 1980, at the suggestion of Lord Zuckermann, the Chemical Defence Establishment (CDE) at Porton Down was commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture Food and Fisheries (MAFF) to assess the acceptability of the use of Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) to control the badger population.
	Records indicate that in 1982 the results from this research led to the agriculture Minister, Mr Walker, ordering a ban on the use of HCN to kill badgers. The details of the research were publicised in a MAFF Press Notice (No. 249) issued on 1 July 1982.
	Subsequent to this announcement, records indicate that discussions between CDE and MAFF were undertaken concerning groups of potentially toxic compounds which could be of use in pest control. However, there is no evidence to suggest that any further research with gaseous pesticides was undertaken involving badgers, although some practical assessments involving non-gaseous methods were undertaken using other animals, including foxes.
	This latter research on contingency plans in the event of rabies becoming established in the UK was undertaken for MAFF, between 1977 and 1981, and was designed to determine a replacement for strychnine in baited poison.
	References:
	1. The Toxicity of Hydrogen Cyanide by Inhalation to Ferrets and Badgers. Technical Report 15/123this report was a Commercial-in-Confidence report for MAFF detailing research undertaken on a MAFF contract.
	2. Compounds for Fox Control (Addendum to Interim Report of July 1977). Effectiveness of Atropine and P2 S in Protecting Rats and Rabbits Poisoned by T3327 (Carbamate) and T3415 (Phosphate). Commercial-in-Confidence. May 1978
	3. The Development of a Humane and Effective Compound for the Control of Fox Populations. Commercial-in-Confidence, Contract Report PTA/15/52/81. July 1981.

Pesticides

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the risk to public health posed by the use of pesticides; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and other Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of subjects. It remains Defra's position that the current risk assessment process for pesticides provides robust safeguards for public health; a view that is endorsed by the independent scientists on the Advisory Committee on Pesticides. The Department of Health is a partner to the pesticides regulatory process, and has accepted the advice of the Advisory Committee on this issue.

Pesticides

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the National Farmers' Union on the spraying of pesticides on crops which are situated close to residences or footpaths; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with key stakeholders, including the NFU, on a wide range of subjects, as do all members of the ministerial team.

Ragwort

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Highways Agency about the control of ragwort; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Defra has regular contact with the Highways Agency about the control of Ragwort. I wrote to the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency in September 2002 reminding the Agency of the need to take effective action to control ragwort growing on the verges of motorways and other trunk roads to prevent the risks to horses and other livestock from ragwort poisoning. More recently, the Highways Agency was consulted on the draft Code of Practice to prevent the spread of ragwort, which I launched at the Hickstead Horse Show in July last year and responded positively.
	The Highways Agency will be among those consulted when the revised code is issued for formal public consultation as required by the Ragwort Control Act. Finally, following the changes that I made in the way that Defra investigates complaints about injurious weeds, my officials have been working with the Highways Agency to streamline the way complaints from the public are handled. As a result the Highways Agency has established a central telephone point for all complaints involving ragwort and other injurious weeds growing on the verges of motorways and other trunk roads. This number has been included in Defra Weeds Act guidance leaflet.

Rights of Way (Vehicle Access)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she had with disability groups on access to the countryside prior to launching the consultation on the use of mechanically-propelled vehicles on rights of way.

Alun Michael: Last December I met a number of groups representing people with disabilities, under the banner Countryside For All, to discuss rights of way issues. We will look carefully at the responses from such groups to our consultation document.

Rights of Way (Vehicle Access)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she had with (a) the Home Office, (b) chief constables and (c) police authorities on the use of rights of way by mechanically-propelled vehicles prior to launching the consultation.

Alun Michael: The consultation paper was drafted with the assistance and agreement of the Home Office. I intend to meet the Association of Chief Police Officers shortly. We had lengthy discussions with the West Yorkshire police, who have particular expertise in off-road vehicular enforcement, before publishing the consultation paper.

Rural Payments Agency

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2004, Official Report, columns 94142W, on Rural Payments Agency, if she will publish the official communication sent to farmers regarding initialled alterations; and how and when IACS applicants were advised that amendments must be crossed through.

Alun Michael: Prior to 2004, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) advised applicants that alterations must be initialled and dated by them and that they must not use correcting fluid. This has been included in the information at the top of the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) base form which is sent annually to all farmers claiming aid under IACS. Other RPA schemes have a similar policy.
	For the 2004 scheme year these forms have asked applicants to sign rather than initial any changes. To reinforce this the accompanying supplement which updates the 2003 booklet has an entry under the heading Points Relating To General Guidance For Completing The IACS Area Aid Application as follows:
	Correction fluid and changes
	3. Correction fluid must not be used on the base form or the field data printout. Should an entry need changing it should be crossed through, the correct information entered and the change SIGNED and dated. If this procedure is not followed it may require the return of the claim which could delay the processing of the claim and incur penalties.
	The forms and the supplement are currently being mailed to all registered IACS applicants with completion expected by the end of March. All applicants should receive them by 8 April.
	In order to safeguard the applicant in that no changes are made to their application without their knowledge, and in order to demonstrate that the information is complete/accurate and clearly shows precisely what information was intended for the application, RPA has instigated procedures to support their obligations to ensure that the correct aid is paid to the correct person.

Rural Payments Agency

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2004, Official Report, columns 94142W, on the Rural Payments Agency, when she received the legal advice on alterations to claims; what steps she took to communicate it to applicants; and whether the legal advice reflected (a) decisions of or (b) guidance from the European institutions.

Alun Michael: The legal advice which formulated these procedures was not based on specific decisions or guidance from the European Institutions but by forming a practice enabling the correct aid to be paid with a defined audit trail linking the information provided to the aid paid and safeguarding the interests of the applicant and the Rural Payments Agency.
	This advice will be communicated to applicants on the IACS base forms for the 2004 scheme year. Applicants will be asked to sign rather than initial any changes and to reinforce this the accompanying supplement which updates the 2003 booklet has an entry under the heading Points Relating To General Guidance For Completing The IACS Area Aid Application as follows:
	Correction fluid and changes
	3. Correction fluid must not be used on the base form or the field data printout. Should an entry need changing it should be crossed through, the correct information entered and the change SIGNED and dated. If this procedure is not followed it may require the return of the claim which could delay the processing of the claim and incur penalties.
	The forms and the supplement are currently being mailed to all registered IACS applicants with completion expected by the end of March, all applicants should receive them by 8 April.

Sheep Tagging

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for introducing electronic tagging of sheep; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Electronic identification of sheep becomes compulsory under EU law from 1 January 2008 and is currently being used as a component of the National Scrapie Plan. We are anticipating the widespread use of this technology and have recently launched a pilot project on a minimum of 50 commercial sheep farms to assess how industry can make best use of electronic identification and to identify any issues that may arise.

Single Farm Payments

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had and what advice she has received from (a) farmers' organisations, (b) landowners' organisations and (c) tenant farmers' organisations since her statement to the House of 12 February 2004, Official Report, columns 15851602, in respect of the future of farm support payments.

Alun Michael: Since the statement, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, has addressed the National Farmers Union AGM and my noble Friend the Lord Whitty, has met with the Chairman of the Tenant Farmers Association. In addition we have received a number letters from farmers and landowners' organisations. Inevitably some anxieties have been expressed about the impact of the decision in certain sectors and areas. However, many of the comments show an appreciation that we took that decision in the long-term interests of the industry and demonstrate a willingness to move forward and work with the Department on the detail of implementation.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Digital Television

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Coventry, South (Mr. Cunningham) of 2 March 2004, Official Report, column 825W, when she expects the review of legal constraints on digital television signals to be completed.

Estelle Morris: The Digital Action Plan identified a need to review planning rules ahead of any decisions about the timing of digital switchover. My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister published a consultation paper in April 2003 setting out proposals for possible changes to the planning rules governing the installation of satellite dishes and other antenna. ODPM are considering the responses and will announce whether any changes are necessary in good time before switchover happens. The Northern Ireland Office and Welsh Assembly Government have consulted separately and will announce any changes in due course. The Scottish Executive is planning to consult shortly on possible changes to Scottish planning rules.

Equal Opportunities

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in what ways her Department is carrying forward the Government's commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, with particular reference to equal opportunities to recreation and leisure.

Estelle Morris: holding answer 17 March 2004
	One of my Department's key strategic priorities is to enhance access to a fuller cultural and sporting life for children and young people and to give them the opportunity to develop their talents to the full. In support of this priority we have set several targets:
	To enhance the take-up of sporting opportunities by 5 to 16-year-olds by increasing the percentage of school children who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high-quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum from 25 per cent. in 2002 to 75 per cent. by 2006 (joint target with the Department for Education and Skills).
	To help regional and national museums and galleries to deliver education programmes in partnership with schools.
	To establish Culture On-line educational projects offering tailored access to the internet to national collections and cultural activity.
	To establish 32 creative partnerships so that children and teachers in deprived areas can work with professionals on sustained creative projects.
	We also work with other Government Departments and bodies, such as the National Lottery Distributors to promote access and participation to sport and recreation.

Fair Share Initiative

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what budget (a) was set for 200304 and (b) has been allocated for 200405 and 200506 by each Government Department for the Fair Share initiative, broken down by English region.

Estelle Morris: Fair share is an innovative joint New Opportunities Fund (NOF)/Community Fund initiative. The initiative began in April 2002, and targets 77 disadvantaged areas across the UK, which for a variety of reasons, have not had their 'fair share' of Lottery funding.
	To date, approximately 58 million of the 180 million for the overall initiative has been distributed, 32 per cent. of the total allocated for the programme.
	Money is not allocated to particular financial years. NOF have provided a breakdown of what has been committed in each local authority area (and hence region) and I have arranged for copies of the document to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Game Plan Target

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding she will make available to sport to meet the target set out in Game Plan that 70 per cent. of the population are active by 2020; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The Government are investing significant amounts in schools and community sport and physical activity, with the overall aim of meeting the Game Plan target of having 70 per cent. of adults physically active five times a week by 2020.
	Planned expenditure from Lottery and Exchequer sources for schools and community sport and physical activity is summarised as follows:
	581.25 million in Lottery funding for school sport facilities in England from the New Opportunities Fund over 2000 to 2006;
	108 million from Sport England and New Opportunities Fund Lottery sources over 2003 to 2006, for community sports facilities under the Active England programme;
	a projected 71.5 million over 2004 to 2009 in Sport England Lottery funding for community sport through the nine Regional Sports Boards; and
	459 million over 2002 to 2006 from my Department and the Department for Education and Skills, for the PE, School Sport and Club Links programme, which includes 60 million over 2003 to 2006 for amateur sports clubs under the Community Club Development Programme.
	These funding plans are also informed by the Government's target to increase the percentage of school children who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum, from 25 per cent. in 2002 to 75 per cent. by 2006.
	The Activity Co-ordination Team will announce the first three year phase of the national physical activity strategy shortly. Future funding decisions on sport and activity will take full account of that strategy.

Horseracing

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who the members of the (a) Horserace Totalisator Board, (b) Gaming Board for Great Britain and (c) Horserace Betting Levy Board were on 1 January; what their term of office is in each case; and whether they are remunerated.

Richard Caborn: The information requested is as follows:
	
		Horserace Totalisator Board
		
			 Member Term of office Remunerated 
		
		
			 Peter Jones (Chairman) 30 November 2005 Yes 
			 Christopher Sporborg 31 January 2005 Yes 
			 Gerald Grimstone 30 June 2006 Yes 
			 Fiona Driscoll 30 June 2006 Yes 
			 Sir Eric Parker 30 April 2004 Yes 
			 John Heaton (resigned 31 January 2004) 31 October 2007 Yes 
			 Tom Phillips 1 May 2006 Yes 
			 Joe Scanlon 30 April 2006 Yes 
		
	
	Note:
	The last three members were executive directors.
	The following members of the Board were appointed by the Secretary of State:
	
		Horserace Betting Levy Board
		
			 Member Term of office Remunerated 
		
		
			 Robert Hughes CBE (Chairman) 31 August 2004 Yes 
			 Sir John Robb 31 December 2006 Yes 
			 Keith Elliott 31 December 2005 Yes 
		
	
	The Board also comprises three members appointed by the Jockey Club; the Chairman of the Bookmakers' Committee; and the Chairman of the Horserace Totalisator Board. On 1 January they were Keith Brown, Sir Eric Parker and Tristram Ricketts; Warwick Bartlett; and Peter Jones. The Jockey Club appointees hold office without a fixed term; and the other members are ex officio. The Secretary of State is responsible for the remuneration only of the Chairman of the Horserace Totalisator Board.
	
		Gaming Board for Great Britain
		
			 Member Term of office Remunerated 
		
		
			 Peter Dean CBE (Chairman) 30 June 2006 Yes 
			 Roy Penrose OBE 31 July 2004 Yes 
			 Robert Lockwood 31 December 2005 Yes 
			 Michael Steen 28 February 2007 Yes 
			 Gillian Milburn 31 December 2007 Yes 
			 Dennis Gunn CBE 31 December 2007 Yes 
			 Bill Knight 31 December 2007 Yes 
			 Eve Salomon 31 December 2007 Yes

HEALTH

Ambulances (Accidents)

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accidents involving ambulances took place in each London borough in 2003.

David Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.
	Year 2003 data are not yet available. Figures for 2002 are shown in the following table.
	
		Number of accidents involving an ambulance(7), by London borough: 2002
		
			 Accidents 
			 London borough Number 
		
		
			 Westminster 1 
			 Camden 0 
			 Islington 3 
			 Hackney 5 
			 Tower Hamlets 0 
			 Greenwich 2 
			 Lewisham 2 
			 Southwark 2 
			 Lambeth 5 
			 Wandsworth 3 
			 Hammersmith 0 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1 
			 Waltham Forest 0 
			 Redbridge 3 
			 Havering 2 
			 Barking 0 
			 Newham 2 
			 Bexley 0 
			 Bromley 1 
			 Croydon 1 
			 Sutton 0 
			 Merton 0 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 0 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 1 
			 Hounslow 0 
			 Hillingdon 0 
			 Ealing 1 
			 Brent 2 
			 Harrow 2 
			 Barnet 2 
			 Haringey 2 
			 Enfield 4 
			 City of London 0 
			 Greater London 47 
		
	
	(7) Vehicles with body type ambulance. Body type is only known for 7080 per cent. of the vehicle records in the Road Accidents database.

Care/Nursing Homes

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people on average per local authority in England received financial support towards nursing home provision in England in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: The table shows the number of council supported residents in nursing homes in England as at 31 March, for 1999 to 2003. Data broken down by council with social service responsibilities has been placed in the Library.
	
		Council supported residents(8) in nursing homes,19992003England
		
			  Rounded numbers 
		
		
			 31 March  
			 1999 73,465  
			 2000 73,860  
			 2001 71,845  
			 2002 72,630  
			 2003(9) 78,400 
		
	
	(8) Includes permanent and temporary residents.
	(9) Data includes clients formerly in receipt of preserved rights.

Care/Nursing Homes

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of care homes have dedicated respite care places in England; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Government do not hold information on the number or percentage of respite care places in care homes in England.

Care/Nursing Homes

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the provision of drinking water for elderly people in residential care; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Care home staff should assist residents in drinking where such a need has been identified in the individual service user's care plan. These responsibilities are set out in the National Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Older People, standards 7 and 15. Care homes also have responsibilities under the Food Safety Act 1990 to ensure safe practices.

Care/Nursing Homes

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's policy is on the provision of drinking water for persons receiving home care; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Staff are expected to assist with drinking where the need for assistance has been identified in the individual's service user plan. These responsibilities are set out in the Domiciliary Care National Minimum Standards, Standards 2, 7, 8, and 11. Domiciliary care agencies have responsibilities under the Food Safety Act 1990 to ensure safe practices.

Defibrillators

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what targets have been set by his Department for increasing the availability of defibrillators in public places; what the (a) baseline and (b) deadline for each target is; where the targets were announced; and if he will make a statement on progress towards meeting the targets;
	(2)  how many defibrillators have been commissioned in public places in each year since 1997.

Melanie Johnson: In July 2000, the NHS Plan made a commitment to provide 3,000 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public places throughout England by the end of 2004.
	110 sites are now operational across England, with a total of 681 AEDs installed.
	In October 2003 the New Opportunities Fund awarded the British Heart Foundation (BHF) 6 million. This award will provide funding for equipment, community defibrillation officer posts and training equipment. The procurement of these AEDs is being undertaken by the Department of Health and the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, on behalf of the British Heart Foundation. It is anticipated that these will be available to the ambulance services by August 2004 and all 3,000 AEDs will be in place by March 2005.
	The breakdown of AEDs installed at the sites across England in each year is as follows:
	107 AEDs were made operational at ten different sites in 2000.
	372 AEDs were made operational at 46 different sites in 2001.
	200 AEDs were made operational at 53 different sites in 2002.
	There were no new sites in 2003.
	Two AEDs were made operational at one site in 2004.

Direct Payments

Alan Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) elderly people and (b) disabled people in each local authority have been offered a direct payment in the latest year for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: Information on the estimated number of elderly and disabled people receiving direct payments for each council in England for 200203 has been placed in the Library.
	Information on the number of direct payments offered is not available.

Domiciliary Care

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been receiving publicly funded intensive home care or home help in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The table shows the number of households receiving publicly funded intensive home care in England for the years 1997 to 2002.
	Information on the number of people receiving intensive home care and home help is not centrally available.
	
		Number of households receiving intensive home care in England, 1997 to 2002
		
			  Rounded numbers 
			  Households receiving intensive(10) , (11) home care 
		
		
			 1997(12)  
			 1998(13) 60,670 
			 1999(13) 68,675 
			 2000 72,290 
			 2001 77,410 
			 2002 81,440 
		
	
	Notes:
	(10) Intensive home care is defined as more than 10 contact hours and 6 or more visits.
	(11) Households receiving intensive home care purchased with a direct payment are excluded.
	(12) Comparable data not available in 1997
	(13) Excludes households receiving home care from more than one sector, which in total is an intensive package.
	Source:
	KS1

Domiciliary Care

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of local authority-funded home care and home help hours in England were contracted out to independent sector providers (a) in total and (b) broken down by local authority, in each year since 1993; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Information on the percentage of contact hours provided by the independent sector in England by council with social service responsibilities in a survey week in September, for 1993 to 2002, has been placed in the Library.

Emergency Services

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) ambulances and (b) emergency vehicles used by paramedics and doctors there are in England.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not held by the Department of Health in the format requested.
	The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (an executive agency of the Department of Health) estimates that the national health service has an ambulance fleet of approximately 5,500 vehicles; this is made up of approximately 46 per cent. patient transport service and 54 per cent. accident and emergency ambulances. This excludes cars, rapid response vehicles and smaller patient transport service vehicles. Information is not collected centrally on the number of these vehicles.

NHS Treatment (Age Limits)

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list treatments available on the NHS for which there is an upper age limit; if he will specify the upper age limit for each treatment to which this is applicable; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Standard One of the older people's national service framework sets out the general commitment to address age discrimination in access to health and social care. It requires that access to treatment and care should be made on the basis of individual needs not age, and that national health service services should be provided, regardless of age, on the basis of clinical need alone. This will require specific clinical assessment and judgement, taking account of the individual patient's needs and wishes, and the up-to-date evidence on effectiveness of specific treatments available.

Osteoporosis

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts in England have osteoporosis managed strategies as recommended in the National Service Framework for Older People.

Stephen Ladyman: Osteoporosis is one of a number of important aspects within the development of the national service framework's (NSF) integrated falls service.
	The NSF for older people requires integrated falls services to be in place locally by April 2005. The Department will be monitoring formally the 2005 milestone at strategic health authority (SHA) level as this is included as one of the key targets in Improvement, Expansion and Reform, the priorities and planning framework for 200306. All SHAs except one currently report that the April 2005 target will be achieved in their areas. The Department has offered support to the SHA that may have difficulty meeting the target across the whole of its area.

Parkinson's Disease

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants in each strategic health authority are trained in the care and complex management of Parkinson's disease.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Parkinson's Disease

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will support the extension of specialist nurses in the management of Parkinson's disease to all NHS trusts in England.

Stephen Ladyman: It is for primary care trusts in partnership with local stakeholders to make decisions about the staff and services required to meet the health care needs of their local populations, including those with Parkinson's disease.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Council Housing

Brian Iddon: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the local authorities whose tenants have rejected transfer of council housing stock, broken down by (a) year of rejection and (b) option rejected.

Keith Hill: Details as requested for local authorities that have had negative ballot results for housing transfer are tabled as follows:
	
		
			 Local authority Date of ballot 
		
		
			 Torbay October 1988 
			 Rochford November 1988 
			 Salisbury December 1988 
			 Arun January 1989 
			 Three Rivers March 1989 
			 Brentwood November 1989 
			 Canterbury November 1989 
			 Redbridge December 1989 
			 Bournemouth January 1990 
			 Wokingham April 1990 
			 South Holland July 1990 
			 North Kesteven December 1990 
			 Hillingdon July 1992 
			 Kingston August 1992 
			 Woodspring August 1992 
			 Mendip July 1993 
			 Rother October 1993 
			 Westminster(14) October 1993 
			 Maidstone November 1993 
			 Poole November 1993 
			 Thanet(14) November 1993 
			 Mid Bedfordshire(14) December 1993 
			 Cherwell April 1994 
			 Castle Point September 1994 
			 West Somerset December 1995 
			 Berwick July 1996 
			 Cheltenham August 1997 
			 Sandwell September 1997 
			 Wokingham August 1998 
			 St. Helens Wargrave(14) October 1998 
			 Tower HamletsCityside(14) October 1998 
			 Bradford Thorpe Edge(14) January 1999 
			 Cambridge February 1999 
			 Tower HamletsPoplar(14) May 1999 
			 Fenland August 1999 
			 Lewisham August 1999 
			 Waverley July 2000 
			 South Bedfordshire August 2000 
			 Wycombe August 2000 
			 Barnsley(14) December 2000 
			 Fareham April 2001 
			 Southend-on Sea April 2001 
			 Dudley November 2001 
			 Southwark: Aylesbury Estate(14) December 2001 
			 Birmingham March 2002 
			 Merton July 2002 
			 Ealing: Havelock(14) November 2002 
			 Stockport March 2003 
			 Nuneaton and Bedworth April 2003 
			 Islington Tollington(14) November 2003 
			 Stroud December 2003 
		
	
	(14) Denotes partial stock.

Disabled Facilities Grant

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many parents of disabled children in England applied for the disabled facilities grant in 2003; and how many of them had their application means-tested;
	(2)  how many parents of disabled children in England who had their application for the disabled facilities grant means-tested in 2003 withdrew from the application process;
	(3)  how many parents of disabled children received the full amount applied for in the disabled facilities grant in England in 2003;
	(4)  what the total amount paid in disabled facilities grant in England was in 2003; and how much of this was paid to those whose applications had been means-tested;
	(5)  what plans he has to abolish the means testing of the disabled facilities grant for the parents of disabled children in England.

Keith Hill: The total amount of disabled facilities grant (DFG) awarded by local authorities in England in 200203 was 173.8 million. All applicants for DFG are subject to a means test.
	Information is not held centrally on the number and value of DFGs awarded to parents of disabled children in England and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The latest information available on the type of DFGs awarded and the characteristics of DFG recipients is from the 1996 report into the Evaluation of the DFG system published by the Department of the Environment. This showed that 5 per cent. of all successful DFG applicants were parents with a disabled child. The report also showed that 35 per cent. of those who initially enquired about a grant withdrew from the process either because they were ineligible for a grant, the council offered them some other form of assistance or because they would not qualify for a grant because of the means test. Of those who withdrew 8 per cent. were parents with a disabled child.
	Since 1996 the DFG means test has been amended and a special housing allowance for a family with a disabled child was introduced in 2000. This extra allowance is offset against that family's income.
	The Government announced a review the operation of the DFG programme on 5 January 2004. In answer to a parliamentary question from Baroness Wilkins, my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Rooker in the other place said that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, jointly with the Department of Health will be reviewing the disabled facilities grant programme, including the operation of the means test, in the context of the Spending Review 2004. The conclusions of this review will be announced later in the year.

Fire Service

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many fire engines there are in England and Wales.

Nick Raynsford: On 31 March 2003 there were 2,319 pumping appliances operated by Fire and Rescue Authorities in England and Wales.

Housing

Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to publish the research by the College of Estate Management into the valuation of properties purchased under the right to buy scheme.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects to publish the report of this review in May 2004.

Housing

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will designate former New Town land in Chorley in Government ownership as land for (a) starter homes and (b) part-rent-part-buy homes.

Keith Hill: The identification of land for affordable housing is a matter for the local planning authority in consultation with English Partnerships and other stakeholders.

Housing

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which local authorities will hold a ballot in the next six months to determine the future of their council housing stock.

Keith Hill: For stock transfers eight local authorities will ballot their tenants on 13 LSVT programmes in the next six months. The local authorities are; London borough of Islington, London borough of Lambeth, Manchester county council, North East Lincolnshire, Royal borough of Kingston, Trafford Metropolitan borough council, Wakefield and Wirral.
	For Arms Length Management Organisations, Nottingham, Sheffield (partial), Slough, Bassetlaw, Brent (partial), Bury, Ealing, Eastbourne, Manchester (partial), Newark and Sherwood, Rotherham, Sandwell and Wolverhampton will need to complete a test of public opinion which may be a ballot, if their bid for a place on the programme is successful, but there is no time-scale in which to do this. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not aware of any Private Finance Initiative schemes that are planning ballots.

Local Government Representation

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects the working group on local government representation to issue its final recommendations; whether those recommendations will be published; and what timetable for the working group has been established.

Nick Raynsford: The role of the Working Group is to enable Government to consider with key interested parties the practical arrangements for implementing structural and boundary changes arising in any local government re-organisation in the event that one or more of the three Northern regions of England votes in favour of a Regional Assembly. Its remit is not to make formal recommendations nor does it have a specific pre-planned timetable. Its first meeting was on 9 March and there will be a number of meetings of the Group and its sub-groups before the autumn.

Parliamentary Boundary Commission

Keith Vaz: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister who the members of the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England were on 1 January; what their term of office is in each case; and whether they are remunerated.

Nick Raynsford: The members of the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England on the 1 January were the Deputy Chairman the Hon. Mr Justice Sir Michael Harrison, Michael Lewer QC and Robin Gray. The Deputy Chairman's current appointment ends in December 2005. Mr. Gray's term of appointment is for four years from 1 January 2003 and Mr. Lewer's for three years from 1 January 2004. The Deputy Chairman receives only expenses; both Mr. Gray and Mr. Lewer receive remuneration.

Parliamentary Questions

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will reply to the questions tabled by the hon. Member for Cotswold on 12 February, refs 1552302, on Coverage Care (Gloucestershire) Ltd.

Yvette Cooper: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 15 March 2004, Official Report, column 59W.

Regional Assemblies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will breakdown his estimate of the 30 million for the set-up costs of an elected regional assembly by main budget heading.

Nick Raynsford: The main elements are the costs of the referendums and election, the costs of preparation, including initial staff and accommodation costs, and the transfer of functions to the new Assemblies. These costs will vary between regions, in proportion to the size of the regions population and electorate, but are expected to average 30 million.

Regional Assemblies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will publish the guidelines on the work of the Government Information and Communication Service which govern the information campaigns (a) Your Say: North East, (b) Your Say: North West and (c) Your Say: Yorkshire and the Humber.

Nick Raynsford: The Government Information and Communications Service (GICS) is working to the guidelines issued by the Cabinet Office set out in the note from Mike Granatt, Director General of the GICS to Heads of Information dated 19 June 2003.
	Publication of this guidance is a matter for the Cabinet Office.

Regional Assemblies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on what dates he (a) referred to the Cabinet Secretary and (b) copied to the Minister for the Cabinet Office his proposals for the Government publicity (i) Your Say: A new opportunity for the North East, (ii) Your Say: A new opportunity for the North West and (iii) Your Say: A new opportunity for Yorkshire and the Humber, (iv) Your Say: Business and Jobs and (v) Your Say: Assembly powers and responsibilities.

Nick Raynsford: The 'Your Say' Campaign is aimed at informing the public in the North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber about the Government's proposal to give them an opportunity to vote on whether there should be an Elected Regional Assembly in their region.
	The original concept for the campaign and the designs and texts for all three Your Say leaflets were referred to the Cabinet Office on 8 October 2003, and were approved on 9 October 2003.
	The text for the information leaflets Your Say: business and Jobs, and Your Say Assembly powers and responsibilities were referred to the Cabinet Office on 19 February 2004 and received approval on 20 February 2004.

Regional Assemblies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total cost of the public hearings on elected assemblies is estimated to be; and what the individual cost of each hearing is.

Nick Raynsford: The cost of the Berwick and Blackburn hearings, including all costs associated with the venue, overtime and advertising were 6,500 and 5,400 respectively.
	The other hearings have yet to happen, but estimated costs in terms of venue related costs and advertising are:
	
		
			 Venue Cost 
		
		
			 Sheffield 10,000 
			 Newcastle 9,500 
			 Hull 6,800 
			 Liverpool 12,200 
			 Kendal 4,900 
			 Halifax 7,500 
			 Middlesbrough 11,300 
		
	
	The estimated total cost is therefore 74,100.

Social Housing

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his Department's target rents are for (a) housing association properties and (b) sheltered accommodation, listing the service charge stated separately in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not set a single target rent for social rented accommodation, or for sheltered accommodation. The formula for target rent for each social rented property, whether a housing association or local authority landlord, reflects size, value and location when compared to all other social rented property.
	Service charges in all social rented property, and support charges in sheltered accommodation, are charged separately from rent. The maximum charge to the tenant for service and support is the cost price to the landlord. Charges depend both upon services received, and the landlord's costs for fulfilling the service and support needs of its tenants. Tenants in sheltered housing may also be in receipt of Supporting People grant towards the cost of support services.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Primary School Funding

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what meetings he has had with local authorities to discuss primary school funding for the next financial year.

Stephen Twigg: My right hon. Friend, other Ministers and officials have had a number of discussions about funding for 200405 with authorities both individually and collectively. Some of these meetings have covered the topic of primary school funding.

Information and Communications Technology

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the extent of the use of computers and interactive technology in schools.

Charles Clarke: Schools are making increasing use of ICT to improve the quality of education they provide.
	Since 1998 investment has increased five-fold, leading to a doubling of the number of computers in schools, the connection of practically all schools to the internet, and opportunities for schools to benefit from the growing range of high quality digital resources.
	Teachers are at the heart of this change and this period has seen significant improvements in their confidence to make use of ICT.

Standard Spending Assessments

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the standard spending assessment per child in secondary education is on average in (a) England and (b) Cornwall.

David Miliband: In 200405 the average Formula Spending Share for secondary pupils in England is 3,106 per pupil. In Cornwall it is 2,935 per pupil.

A-level Mathematics/Physics

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students sat the A-level examination in (a) mathematics and (b) physics in each year since 1994; and what proportion were in private sector schools.

David Miliband: The total number of students in England who were entered for (a) A-level mathematics and (b) A-level physics in each year from 1994 to 2003 and the proportion of these entries in independent schools are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Mathematics Physics 
			  Number entered Percentage of entries in independent schools Number entered Percentage of entries in independent schools 
		
		
			 1994 60,419 21.9 32,389 22.0 
			 1995 58,795 22.9 31,255 23.4 
			 1996 62,333 23.2 29,632 23.5 
			 1997 64,132 23.5 29,970 22.2 
			 1998 64,693 23.5 30,844 22.2 
			 1999 63,814 23.8 30,649 22.7 
			 2000 60,963 23.1 29,090 22.8 
			 2001 61,305 23.4 28,816 22.9 
			 2002 50,421 25.0 28,642 22.3 
			 2003 51,438 25.3 27,128 23.5

Adult Residential Colleges

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with the Adult Residential Colleges Association concerning the contribution by residential education to the Government's Skills Strategy.

Ivan Lewis: There are 32 adult residential colleges based in rural locations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. These colleges are mainly owned and run by local education authorities (LEAs) and provide, in the main, short courses. They do not receive funding direct from the DfES or the Learning and Skills Council. It is for local Learning and Skills Councils, in discussion with LEAs, to consider whether, and if so how, residential colleges can contribute to meeting local needs in lifelong learning in the light of our commitments in 21st Century Skills to safeguard budgets for such learning. I have not, therefore, had direct discussions with the Association about the role of member colleges in meeting the commitments in the Skills Strategy.

Apprenticeships

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many residents of Buckingham have undertaken apprenticeships in each of the last seven years.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not available at parliamentary constituency level. Nor is the information available for a consistent geographical area over the last seven years. However, the following table shows the number of starts on modern apprenticeships in Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Learning and Skills Council (LSC) area between April 2001 and the end of July 2003, as well as the number of starts from April 1996 to March 2001 in the three Training and Enterprise Council's (TECs) that amalgamated to become Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire LSC.
	
		
			 Time period(15)/TEC/LSC Advanced MA Foundation MA 
		
		
			 April 1996 to March 1997  
			 Heart of England 600  
			 Milton Keynes and North Bucks 500  
			 Thames Valley(16) 1,700  
			
			 April 1997 to March 1998  
			 Heart of England 1,000  
			 Milton Keynes and North Bucks 700  
			 Thames Valley(16) 2,500  
			
			 April 1998 to March 1999  
			 Heart of England 1,100 100 
			 Milton Keynes and North Bucks 700 300 
			 Thames Valley(16) 1,800 400 
			
			 April 1999 to March 2000  
			 Heart of England 900 500 
			 Milton Keynes and North Bucks 500 600 
			 Thames Valley(16) 2,100 1,500 
			
			 April 2000 to March 2001  
			 Heart of England 1,000 700 
			 Milton Keynes and North Bucks 600 800 
			 Thames Valley(16) 2,300 2,800 
			
			 April 2001 to July 2002   
			 Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire 1,700 3,900 
			
			 August 2002 to July 2003  
			 Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire 1,300 2,500 
		
	
	(15) TECs reported the figures in financial years. LSC reports them in academic years. The first LSC year was 16 months in order to bring the financial year figures into line with academic years.
	(16) Thames Valley TEC also became part of Berkshire LSC.
	Sources:
	TEC management information
	LSC Individualised Learner Record

Apprenticeships

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what targets his Department has set for numbers of apprenticeships.

Ivan Lewis: The Department has adopted a Public Service Agreement target that in the academic year 200405 28 per cent. of young people will start a Modern Apprenticeship programme by the age of 22.

Apprenticeships

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many residents of the Burton constituency have undertaken apprenticeships in each of the last seven years.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not available at parliamentary constituency level. However, figures are available for Learning and Skills Council (LSC) areas and, prior to the creation of the LSC, Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) areas. The following table shows the number of starts on modern apprenticeships in Staffordshire LSC area between April 2001 and the end of July 2003, as well as the number of starts from April 1996 to March 2001 in Staffordshire TEC area.
	
		
			 Time period(17) TEC/LSC Advanced MA Foundation MA 
		
		
			 April 1996 to March 1997 Staffordshire TEC 1,300  
			 April 1997 to March 1998 Staffordshire TEC 1,600  
			 April 1998 to March 1999 Staffordshire TEC 1,900 1,800 
			 April 1999 to March 2000 Staffordshire TEC 2,100 1,600 
			 April 2000 to March 2001 Staffordshire TEC 2,500 2,400 
			 April 2001 to July 2002 Staffordshire LSC 1,300 3,000 
			 August 2002 to July 2003 Staffordshire LSC 900 2,500 
		
	
	(17) TECs reported the figures in financial years. LSC reports them in academic years. The first LSC year was 16 months in order to bring the financial year figures into line with academic years.
	Sources:
	TEC management information.
	LSC Individualised Learner Record.

Apprenticeships

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many residents of Crosby have undertaken apprenticeships in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not available at parliamentary constituency level. Nor is the information available for a consistent geographical area over the last five years. However, the following table shows the number of starts on modern apprenticeships in Greater Merseyside Learning and Skills Council (LSC) between April 2001 and the end of July 2003, as well as the number of starts from April 1998 to March 2001 in the four TECs that amalgamated to become Greater Merseyside LSC.
	
		
			 Time period TEC/LSC Advanced MA Foundation MA 
		
		
			 April 1998 to CEWTEC(18) 1,400 300 
			 March 1999 Merseyside 2,400 1,200 
			  St. Helens CCTE 300 100 
			  North and mid Cheshire(18) 1,200 200 
			 April 1999 to CEWTEC(18) 1,000 900 
			 March 2000 Merseyside 2,600 3,500 
			  St. Helens CCTE 300 400 
			  North and mid Cheshire(18) 900 500 
			 April 2000 to CEWTEC(18) 1,100 1,300  
			 March 2001 Merseyside 2,500 4,100 
			  St. Helens CCTE 300 500 
			  North and mid Cheshire(18) 1,000 900 
			 April 2001 to Greater Merseyside LSC 2,600 7,100 
			 July 2002  
			 March 2001 to Greater Merseyside LSC 2,000 6,000 
			 July 2002  
		
	
	(18) Denotes TEC also became part of Cheshire and Warrington LSC
	Source:
	TEC management information
	LSC Individualised Learner Record

Apprenticeships

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many residents of (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley have undertaken apprenticeships in each of the last seven years.

Ivan Lewis: The following table shows the number of starts on modern apprenticeships in the Lancashire LSC area between April 2001 and the end of July 2003, as well as the number of starts from April 1996 to March 2001 in the two TECs that amalgamated into Lancashire LSCELTEC and LAWTEC. Figures for Chorley cannot be provided as information at parliamentary constituency level is not available.
	
		
			 Time period(19) TEC/LSC Advanced MA Foundation MA 
		
		
			 April 1996 to March 1997 ELTEC 1,400  
			  LAWTEC 1,700  
			 April 1997 to March 1998 ELTEC 1,200  
			  LAWTEC 1,800  
			 April 1998 to March 1999 ELTEC 1,000 400  
			  LAWTEC 1,600 100 
			 April 1999 to March 2000 ELTEC 800 1,100  
			  LAWTEC 1,900 1,800 
			 April 2000 to March 2001 ELTEC 900 1,300  
			  LAWTEC 1,800 2,100 
			 April 2001 to July 2002 Lancashire LSC 1,900 4,100 
			 August 2002 to July 2003 Lancashire LSC 1,500 3,300 
		
	
	(19) TECs reported the figures in financial years. LSC reports figures in academic years. The first LSC 'year' was 16 months in order to bring the financial year figures into line with academic years.
	Source
	TEC Management Information and LSC Individualised Learner Record

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the buildings occupied by his departmental and agency staff which require (a) remedial work on and (b) removal of asbestos; what this work will cost; what budgets are available for this work for (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005; and what budget is available for future asbestos surveys.

Stephen Twigg: Within the buildings on the Department's four sites there are only two buildings that currently contain the material, one in London and one in Darlington. The necessary control measures are now in place, which include a programme of regular monitoring and review. Costs for this work are not available and there is no set budget in place for future work associated with asbestos management.

Capital Modernisation Fund

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Capital Modernisation Fund computer-learning centres have been established in Buckinghamshire.

Ivan Lewis: There are 49 UK online centres in Buckinghamshire.
	Twelve of these have received support from the Capital Modernisation Fund (CMF).

Child Care

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many free child care places provided by the Government have (a) been taken up and (b) not been taken up by parents of children below compulsory school age in each year since 1998.

Margaret Hodge: The information is not available in the form requested.
	Figures on the number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four-year-olds are shown in the table.
	The latest figures on provision for three and four-year-olds in England were published in a Statistical Bulletin Provision for children under five years of age in EnglandJanuary 2003 which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
	By April 2004, six months ahead of our original target, all three-year-olds in England whose parents want one, will have access to a free, part-time early education place.

Child Care

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the take-up of nursery places was, broken down by (a) public and (b) private child care provision for children under compulsory school age in each year since 1998.

Margaret Hodge: The information is not available in the form requested.Figures on the number of free nursery education places taken up by 3 and 4-year-olds in England are shown in the tables.
	The latest figures on provision for 3 and 4-year-olds in England were published in a Statistical Bulletin 'Provision for children under five years of age in EnglandJanuary 2003' which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
	We have made the commitment that by April 2004, six months ahead of our original target, all 3-year-olds in England whose parents want one, will have access to a free, part-time early education place.
	
		Number of free nursery education places taken up by 3 and4-year-old children, England 19982003
		
			  3-year-olds 
			 Position in January each year Maintained nursery and primary schools(20) Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers(21) 4-year-olds(22) Total 
		
		
			 1998 222,000 0 591,500 813,500 
			 1999 225,700 0 593,800 819,500 
			 2000 229,900 40,300 598,500 868,600 
			 2001 226,600 108,800 589,300 924,700 
		
	
	
		
			   3-year-olds  4-year-olds 
			  Maintained nursery and primary schools(20) Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers(21) Maintained nursery and primary schools(20) Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers(21) Total4-year-olds Total 
		
		
			 2002 223,500 184,700 477,700 106,800 584,500 992,800 
			 2003 218,700 226,100 472,200 107,100 579,300 1,024,000 
		
	
	(20) Headcount of children aged three at 31st December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools Census.
	(21) Part-time equivalent number of children aged 3 at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise. Nursery Education Grant for 3-year-olds was allocated to the 65 local education authorities in 19992000 and all LEAs from 200001.
	(22) Part-time equivalent number of children aged 4 at 31December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education grant data collection exercise.
	(23) Headcount of children aged 4 at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools Census.
	(24) Part-time equivalent number of children aged 4 at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the EarlyYears supplementary data collection exercise.

Child Care

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the number of children in Crosby who have gained from the National Childcare Strategy;
	(2)  how many child care places have been created in Crosby since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Information on the number of new child care places created in individual constituencies is available only from 1999. Sefton local authority reported that between April 1999 and December 2003, 565 new child care places opened in Crosby constituency. A place typically helps more than one child, as not all children take up places full-time, and we estimate these places will help some 1,000 children. During the same period, Sefton reported that 217 child care places closed in Crosby, so that the stock of child care places rose by 348 helping some 700 children.

Child Employment Report

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the Government will respond to the Better Regulation Task Force report, The Regulation of Child Employment; and if he will place a copy of the response in the Library.

Margaret Hodge: The Better Regulation Task Force report, The Regulation of Child Employment, was published on 11 February and we are considering the recommendations carefully. We will respond to the report within 60 working days and a copy of our response will be placed in the Library.

Computers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people in Buckingham have received a computer to assist in seeking employment or retraining.

Ivan Lewis: At present no centrally funded schemes exist which enable people to acquire free or low price recycled computers. In the past such schemes have been trialled but have proved costly to administer to ensure fair distribution of equipment.
	Government funding has been focused instead upon establishing the network of UK online centres. People in Buckingham who do not have ICT access and wish to use computers are advised to visit their local UK online centre.

Computers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been spent on computers for schools in Buckingham in each of the last seven years.

Charles Clarke: My department does not collect information on school spend on computers. However, I refer the hon. Gentleman to my response to his question about funding allocated to schools in Buckinghamshire for information and communications technology (161583).

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) young people of the relevant age group and (b) personal advisers there are in the area of each Connexions partnership; and what the ratio of (a) to (b) is in each case.

Margaret Hodge: The following table shows (a) the number of young people aged (13 to 19) in each of the Connexions partnership areas, (b) the number of Connexions personal advisers funded through the departmental grant and (c) the ratio of (a) to (b) in each partnership.
	
		
			  Total 13 to 19-year-old population (a) Personal advisers funded through SCYPG grant (b) Ratio of (a) to (b), (c) 
		
		
			 Bedfordshire and Luton 48,466 73 661 
			 Berkshire 67,045 78 857 
			 Birmingham and Solihull 108,253 268 405 
			 Black Country 91,499 155 592 
			 Bournemouth Dorset and Poole 53,368 75 711 
			 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 56,957 85 670 
			 Central London 88,898 278 320 
			 Cheshire and Warrington 70,301 106 664 
			 Cornwall and Devon 124,469 234 531 
			 County Durham 40,742 77 526 
			 Coventry and Warwickshire 67,482 120 561 
			 Cumbria 38,851 73 536 
			 Derbyshire 75,527 138 547 
			 East London 161,916 309 525 
			 Essex Southend and Thurrock 125,549 222 566 
			 Gloucestershire 45,363 55 820 
			 Greater Manchester 217,573 394 552 
			 Greater Merseyside 134,711 289 467 
			 Hereford and Worcestershire 56,428 105 538 
			 Hertfordshire 85,726 114 751 
			 Humber 74,614 197 379 
			 Kent 132,424 186 711 
			 Lancashire 121,426 175 693 
			 Leicestershire 75,977 128 592 
			 Lincolnshire and Rutland 55,232 66 834 
			 Milton Keynes Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire 105,622 146 726 
			 Norfolk 59,688 93 642 
			 North London 80,696 108 750 
			 Northamptonshire 52,790 87 607 
			 Northumberland 24,876 67 371 
			 Nottinghamshire 83,772 155 540 
			 Shropshire Telford and Wrekin 37,937 47 809 
			 Somerset 41,232 70 589 
			 South Central 143,199 215 665 
			 South London 100,229 135 742 
			 South Yorkshire 104,417 276 379 
			 Staffordshire 87,004 144 603 
			 Suffolk 52,528 68 777 
			 Surrey 80,983 96 847 
			 Sussex 111,238 192 579 
			 Tees Valley 58,404 113 519 
			 Tyne and Wear 91,557 174 525 
			 West London 107,145 154 697 
			 West of England 78,732 111 709 
			 West Yorkshire 179,253 333 583 
			 Wiltshire and Swindon 47,875 63 755 
			 York and North Yorkshire 61,774 80 773 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Data on personal advisers relates to the number of full time equivalents in post at December 2003the latest period for which information is available and is taken from NEXUS, the management information system used to monitor the performance of the service.
	2. Personal Adviser numbers exclude those funded by other agencies of which there were 917 in post in the same period and a further 3,252 other delivery staff not defined as PAs whose main role is client/customer contact.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of 16 to 18-year-olds have not been in education, training or employment in each of the Connexions partnership areas in each year since 2001.

Margaret Hodge: The percentage of 16 to 18-year-olds who have not been in education, employment or training in each Connexions partnership area in each year since 2001 is shown in the following table.
	A separate exercise estimated that the proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds not in education, employment or training had fallen by 3 per cent. in England between November 2002 and November 2003.
	
		Percentage of 16 to 18-year-olds estimated by the Connexions Service not to be in education, employment or training -- Percentage
		
			  2001(25) 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Bedfordshire and Luton  10.7 6.6 
			 Berkshire   5.8 
			 Birmingham and Solihull  12.1 9.4 
			 Black Country 14.4 13.0 8.2 
			 Bournemouth Dorset and Poole  6.8 5.5 
			 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough  9.7 6.0 
			 Central London  14.8 11.5 
			 Cheshire and Warrington 6.8 7.0 6.1 
			 Cornwall and Devon 7.4 7.0 6.1 
			 Co. Durham  17.0 11.6 
			 Coventry and Warwickshire 10.3 9.5 4.8 
			 Cumbria 9.2 7.6 6.6 
			 Derbyshire  10.3 8.4 
			 East London  11.6 11.1 
			 Essex Southend and Thurrock  7.5 7.5 
			 Gloucestershire  4.1 3.9 
			 Greater Manchester  10.0 9.3 
			 Greater Merseyside 12.8 12.1 10.7 
			 Hereford and Worcestershire  6.9 5.4 
			 Hertfordshire  5.1 4.7 
			 Humber 8.4 10.0 9.2 
			 Kent  5.0 6.0 
			 Lancashire  9.6 7.2 
			 Leicestershire  9.2 6.5 
			 Lincolnshire and Rutland 5.0 6.1 4.7 
			 Milton Keynes Oxford and Bucks. 3.6 5.4 4.4 
			 Norfolk   6.6 
			 North London 8.8 9.6 8.7 
			 Northamptonshire  6.3 8.3 
			 Northumberland   7.0 
			 Nottinghamshire  6.8 3.8 
			 Shropshire Telford and the Wrekin 6.4 6.3 6.3 
			 Somerset  4.6 4.5 
			 South Central  4.9 4.8 
			 South London 9.3 7.7 5.5 
			 South Yorkshire 10.9 11.4 9.6 
			 Staffordshire  10.5 6.3 
			 Suffolk 7.8 8.2 7.0 
			 Surrey  2.8 3.7 
			 Sussex  5.8 4.8 
			 Tees Valley  12.7 9.0 
			 Tyne and Wear  16.3 10.7 
			 West London  10.2 6.9 
			 West of England 5.1 7.3 6.5 
			 West Yorkshire  10.2 8.9 
			 Wiltshire and Swindon  5.8 4.4 
			 York and North Yorkshire  5.8 4.7 
		
	
	(25) Data relate to all 16 to 19-year-olds. Data for 16 to 18-year-olds are not available.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of 16 to 18-year-olds from black and ethnic minorities have not been in education, training or employment in each of the Connexions partnership areas in each year since 2001.

Margaret Hodge: The following table shows the percentage of 16 to 19-year-olds from black and ethnic minorities at the end of 2003 who were not in employment, education or training.
	The percentages are taken from data supplied by Connexions Partnerships. Information on the ethnic origin of young people who have completed compulsory education is only available from April 2003. The data is for 16 to 19-year-olds; data for 16 to 18-year-olds only is not collected.
	
		
			 Connexions partnership Percentage of 16 to 19-year-olds from BME groups not in education, employment or training 
		
		
			 Bedfordshire and Luton 6.6 
			 Berkshire 6.9 
			 Birmingham and Solihull 8.4 
			 Black Country 5.7 
			 Bournemouth Dorset and Poole 5.8 
			 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 6.7 
			 Central London 10.9 
			 Cheshire and Warrington 6.5 
			 Cornwall and Devon 6.8 
			 County Durham 10.3 
			 Coventry and Warwickshire 4.5 
			 Cumbria 6.0 
			 Derbyshire 9.1 
			 East London 10.5 
			 Essex Southend and Thurrock 5.2 
			 Gloucestershire 6.3 
			 Greater Manchester 7.4 
			 Greater Merseyside 10.1 
			 Hereford and Worcestershire 5.5 
			 Hertfordshire 4.8 
			 Humber 9.8 
			 Kent 6.3 
			 Lancashire 6.1 
			 Leicestershire 4.1 
			 Lincolnshire and Rutland 6.0 
			 Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire 5.4 
			 Norfolk 4.6 
			 North London 7.9 
			 Northamptonshire 9.3 
			 Northumberland 0.0 
			 Nottinghamshire 2.7 
			 Shropshire Telford and Wrekin 6.5 
			 Somerset 3.1 
			 South Central 3.6 
			 South London 4.9 
			 South Yorkshire 12.0 
			 Staffordshire 6.5 
			 Suffolk 6.8 
			 Surrey 2.4 
			 Sussex 3.7 
			 Tees Valley 8.2 
			 Tyne and Wear 9.6 
			 West London 4.9 
			 West of England 10.5 
			 West Yorkshire 9.5 
			 Wiltshire and Swindon 4.2 
			 York and North Yorkshire 0.8 
		
	
	Note:
	Data for Northumberland and Yorks and North Yorkshire reflects the low numbers of Black and ethnic minorities reported in all categories of activity.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of Connexions services for young people are contracted out to external providers; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 16 March 2004
	Connexions Partnerships are private companies with obligations to their individual boards. As such we do not collect the information requested centrally. The proportion of sub-contracted services are not separately identified in Partnerships' accounts. All costs are apportioned across three main expenditure headingsstaff, premises and administration. Private sector companies have had a leading role from the start of developing Connexions and much use has been made of their experience and expertise.

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what factors he takes into account when determining the level of grant allocated to each Connexions partnership.

Margaret Hodge: The amount of grant allocated to each Connexions Partnership is calculated using a funding formula. The formula allocates 40 per cent. of the budget based on the number of 13 to 19-year-olds in the Partnership area and 60 per cent. based on the additional needs of those young people, as indicated by four proxies. The proxies are the number of young people achieving less than 5 GCSEs at grade A*-C, the number of 16 to 17-year-olds not in education and training, the number of 18 to 24-year-olds who have been unemployed for at least six months and the number of 18 to 24-year-olds claiming Income Support. The formula also incorporates area cost weightings and allocates a fixed amount to each Partnership to cover common costs.

Drugs/Alchohol Misuse (Schools)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent on programmes explaining the dangers of (a) drugs and (b) alcohol misuse in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in Lancashire in the last year for which figures are available.

Stephen Twigg: In 200304 Lancashire Local Education Authority (LEA) received 395,863 of Government funding to support drug education in schools. Of this, 261,599 originated from this Department, 114,304 from the Department of Health, and 20,000 from the Home Office to cover enhanced school drug adviser support for Lancashire's participation in the Blueprint research programme. The LEA is able to add to this funding if it wishes.
	There has been no direction from Government as to the proportion of this funding that should be spent on education about different substances or on schools in different sectors.

Education Funding

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been spent on higher education in Crosby in each of the last seven years.

Alan Johnson: There is no higher education institution in Crosby receiving funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Institutions located outside Crosby may be undertaking activities in the area, for example outreach to raise the attainment and aspirations of potential HE entrants, or special arrangements with schools and colleges to improve progression into HE. This information is not held centrally.

Education Funding

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his most recent assessment is of the total funding per pupil in Worcestershire for the next financial year.

David Miliband: In 200405, Worcestershire's total funding per pupil aged 319 is estimated at 3,490. That figure takes account of the authority's Education Formula Spending Share and grants allocated so far. It also includes an estimated allocation of the School Standards direct grant for Worcestershire.

Examination Grades

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils in (a) Ribble Valley and Fulwood constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West achieved three grade As or more at A-level in each year since 199798.

David Miliband: The percentages of 16 to 18-year-old A-level candidates achieving three or more grade As at A-level in (a) Ribble Valley and Fulwood constituency, (b) Lancashire local education authority and (c) the North West in each year since 1997/98 are:
	
		
			  (a) Ribble Valley and Fulwood constituency(26) (b) Lancashire LEA (c) North West region 
		
		
			 1998 7.1 6.6 5.3 
			 1999 15.0 8.0 5.7 
			 2000 10.7 8.1 5.8 
			 2001 9.3 8.2 5.9 
			 2002 9.4 7.6 5.7 
			 2003 9.7 7.7 5.7 
		
	
	(26) These figures are made up of two institutions in the Ribble Valley and Fulwood constituency.

Examination Grades

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of 15 to 16 year olds in Buckingham achieved five or more GCSEs at grade A to C or GNVQ equivalent in each of the last seven years.

David Miliband: The statistical information requested is detailed in the following table:
	
		Percentage of 15 year old pupils(27) achieving 5 or more grades A*C
		
			 Academic year Buckingham parliamentary constituency England 
		
		
			 1997 54.1 45.1 
			 1998 54.4 46.3 
			 1999 57.7 47.9 
			 2000 56.0 49.2 
			 2001 60.6 50.0 
			 2002 59.4 51.6 
			 2003 63.5 52.9 
		
	
	(27) Pupils are aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August

Examination Grades

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of 15 to 16 year olds in Chorley achieved five or more GCSEs at A to C or GNVQ equivalent in each of the last seven years.

David Miliband: The statistical information requested is detailed in the following table:
	
		Percentage of 15 year old pupils(28) achieving 5 or more grades A*-C
		
			 Academic year Chorley parliamentary constituency England 
		
		
			 1997 53.7 45.1 
			 1998 51.4 46.3 
			 1999 52.1 47.9 
			 2000 56.7 49.2 
			 2001 53.8 50.0 
			 2002 57.4 51 .6 
			 2003 61.0 52.9 
		
	
	(28) Pupils are aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August.

Free Pre-school Places

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) free nursery and (b) pre-school places were available for (i) three and (ii) four year olds in Buckingham in each of the last seven years.

Margaret Hodge: The information is not available in the form requested.
	Figures on the number of free nursery education places taken up by 3 and 4-year-olds in Buckinghamshire local education authority area are shown in the table.
	The latest figures on provision for 3 and 4-year-olds in England were published in a Statistical Bulletin 'Provision for children under five years of age in EnglandJanuary 2003' which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
	By April 2004, six months ahead of our original target, all 3-year-olds in England whose parents want one, will have access to a free, part-time early education place.
	
		Number of free nursery education places(29) , (30) taken up by 3 and 4-year-old children in maintained nursery and primary schools and private, voluntary and independent providers, Buckinghamshire local education authority area: 19972003
		
			 Position in Januaryeach year 3-year-olds 4-year-olds 
		
		
			 1997 600 5,700 
			 1998 700 5,900 
			 1999 700 6,200 
			 2000 700 6,100 
			 2001 1,200 6,100 
			 2002 2,500 5,900 
			 2003 3,900 6,000 
		
	
	(29) Part-time equivalent number of free nursery education places taken up by 3 and 4-year-old children.
	(30) A free nursery education place comprises five 2 hour sessions of early years education per week, for 33 weeks of the year, usually three terms of 11 weeks.

Further Education

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what barriers to re-entering full-time further education for 19-year-olds and over he has identified.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 11 March 2004
	Adults who wish to re-enter further education full-time face a range of issues. The National Employment Panel report, Welfare to Workforce Development, which was published on 9 March, refers to a need for improved services and support for learners. The Study of Learners in Further Education (RR 469, September 2003), which my Department commissioned, also highlights the financial implications of being a full-time learner in further education.
	Within the framework of the Skills Strategy, the Government is taking action to address these issues and to encourage adults to learn, The measures we are taking include:
	The new Adult Learning Grant (ALG), which is being piloted in 10 local LSC areas. This is a major step in helping adults who did not achieve their potential in initial education. ALGs offer a means tested allowance of up to 30 per week for full-time students aged between 1930 studying for their first full level 2 or first full level 3 qualification. The pattern of attendance required to qualify for ALG means that learners can combine studies with part-time working.
	The Government provides 75 per cent. of the standard national course costs to the Learning and Skills Council to pass on to Further Education Institutions (FEIs).
	In 200304, 96.5 million of Learner Support Funds have been made available for FE students aged 19+ who may find finance a barrier to learning. Learner Support Funds include Access Funds (which can help towards the cost of books, equipment, transport and tuition fees), Childcare Support Funds and Residential Bursaries.
	We are also working with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to address the financial disincentives to learn for people in receipt of benefits.

Further Education

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the impact of the 16 hour rule on participation rates of homeless people in further education.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 11 March 2004
	My Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of the 16 hour rule on participation rates of homeless people in further education. However, both DfES and The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which has responsibility for the '16 hour rule', recognise that the rule can create difficulties for some people, including homeless people, who wish to participate in, and complete, courses of further education.
	DfES and DWP are working together to address financial disincentives to learn for people in receipt of benefits. This is in line with the recommendations of the National Employment Panel report, Welfare to Workforce Development, which was published on 9 March.

Further Education

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the further education centres of learning which (a) have closed in London in the past five years, (b) are due to close this year, (c) have opened in the past five years in London and (d) are due to open this year.

Alan Johnson: The Department only holds information on the dissolution of existing further education institutions and the incorporation of new ones. In the last five years Cordwainers College, Ealing Tertiary College, Greenhill College Harrow, Hendon College, Kingsway College, Phoenix College and Weald College have been dissolved and their property, rights and liabilities transferred to other further education institutions to effect mergers. The Brooke House Sixth Form College has been incorporated within the last five years. There are no other dissolutions or incorporations planned this year. Mark Haysom, Chief Executive of the Learning and Skills Council will write with details of any other significant changes.

Further Education

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make it his policy to require further education colleges disposing of listed buildings to return a proportion of the buildings' capital value to the community which owned them prior to incorporation.

Alan Johnson: The transaction of land and buildings by a Further Education college is specifically covered by the 'Financial Memorandum' which is a significant part of the contract between the LSC and FE corporations and regulates their relationship on financial and related matters. The 'Financial Memorandum' states that a college would normally apply the proceeds of asset sales to investment in fixed assets and, where the college is proposing to dispose of land and buildings which have been acquired by Exchequer funds, allows the LSC to require the college to surrender some or all of the proceeds.

Building Schools for the Future Initiative

James Purnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Building for the Future programme places requirements on the schools it will benefit to open up their facilities to the wider community.

David Miliband: It is a requirement for projects being funded through Building Schools for the Future to open up school facilities to the wider community, wherever appropriate.

Learning and Skills Council

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with business on the work of the Learning and Skills Council.

Alan Johnson: I have regular contact with business representatives to discuss the work of the LSC and skills related issues.
	To ensure that business needs are at the heart of the LSC arrangements, and that they are customer-driven, at least 40 per cent. of the members of the LSC, both nationally and locally, and the national Chair and the majority of local Chairs, continue to be people with substantial recent business or commercial experience.

Learning and Skills Council

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with the Central London Learning and Skills Council on the future of the Battersea Park Road building of Westminster Kingsway College.

Alan Johnson: The planning and funding of education and training in the post-16 learning and skills sector is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). I am aware that the London Central LSC, having carefully considered the proposal, supports the decision by Westminster Kingsway College to close its site in Wandsworth. It considered that the college's plan make the most effective use of public funds and there is a wide range of other centres in that area providing learning opportunities for the local community.

Learning and Skills Council

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding he has made available to the Central London Learning and Skills Council for each year since its establishment; and how many centres of learning were funded through the Council for each of those years.

Alan Johnson: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). I have asked Mark Haysom, the LSC's Chief Executive, to reply to you direct, copying his reply to me.

Learning and Skills Council

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to make the Learning and Skills Councils accountable to the public through the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Alan Johnson: The Learning and Skills Council has been brought under the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (the Ombudsman). This came into effect from 16 December 2003 by virtue of Parliamentary Commissioner Order 2003.

Legal Judgments

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received following the judgement of the House of Lords in the cases R v. London borough of Barnet ex parte G, R v London borough of Lambeth ex parte W and R v. London borough of Lambeth ex parte A; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: A representation has been received from the Director of Shelter.
	The judgment of the House of Lords is consistent with the Government's understanding that councils with social services responsibilities, in discharging their duties under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, have the power to provide support towards accommodation for children in need and their families. While councils with social services responsibility do not have a specific duty in relation to the children of families who have been deemed intentionally homeless, this is consistent with the fact that they do not have such duties towards the child of any other family. The service response of a local authority will depend, in every situation, on its assessment of the needs of the child, in the context of the wider family, with assessments being carried out under the terms of the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and Their Families.

Literacy Rates

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the literacy rates for the populations of (a) Wales and (b) England were in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: Information on adult literacy skills has not been collected on a regular basis, and annual data since 1997 are not available. However, in October 2003 the Department for Education and Skills published the Skills for Life Survey: A national needs and impact survey of literacy, numeracy and ICT skills. This survey assessed the literacy and numeracy skills of around 8,000 adults aged 16 and above in England.
	The literacy findings are shown in the following table. The assessment levels correspond to the new literacy and numeracy core curriculum and National Standards: Level 1 is broadly equivalent to a lower grade GCSE (grade DG) and Level 2 to a higher grade GCSE (A*C). Overall around 16 per cent. of adults had literacy skills below Level 1.
	As education is a devolved matter, the Department does not have data covering the rest of the United Kingdom.
	
		Overall LiteracyBase: all respondents with literacy level (7874)
		
			  Percentage of 16 to 65-year-olds Number of 16 to 65-year-olds 
		
		
			   million 
			 Entry level 1 or below 3 1.1 
			 Entry level 2 2 0.6 
			 Entry level 3 11 3.5 
			 (All Entry level or below) (16) (5.2) 
			 Level 1 40 12.6 
			 Level 2 or above 44 14.1 
			  100 31.9 
		
	
	Source:
	For population figures: Census 01

New Opportunities Bursaries

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students in Buckingham have benefited from New Opportunities Bursaries.

Alan Johnson: Students on designated courses at the University of Buckingham are not eligible for Opportunity Bursaries.

New Opportunities Bursaries

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students in Chorley have benefited from the New Opportunities Bursaries.

Alan Johnson: Information about Opportunity Bursaries is held at the level of institutions that provide higher education provision. Apart from that, it is not possible to extract from the data the number of awards for students in any given area. The only further education college in Chorley with higher education provision, Runshaw College, is not participating in the Opportunity Bursaries pilot; and nor have any students with an Opportunity Bursary transferred to Runshaw College.

Nurseries

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many new nurseries have been established in Buckingham since 1997;
	(2)  how many (a) Sure Start and (b) Early Excellence Centres have been created in Buckinghamshire.

Margaret Hodge: Since 1997, five new nurseries have been established in the constituency of Buckingham creating 150 additional places. There is a Sure Start local programme in the High Wycombe area providing Sure Start services for around 869 children and their families. A Neighbourhood Nursery attached to the Sure Start Centre is set to open in April 2004 and will deliver 50 new full daycare places. There are no Early Excellence Centres in Buckinghamshire.

Nurseries

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many 3 and 4-year-olds attended part-time nurseries on the latest date for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: The information is not available in the form requested.
	In January 2003, 1,024,000 free nursery education places were taken up by 3 and 4-year-olds in maintained nursery and primary schools and private, voluntary and independent providers in England.
	The latest figures on provision for 3 and 4-year-olds in England were published in a Statistical Bulletin 'Provision for children under five years of age in EnglandJanuary 2003' which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
	By April 2004, six months ahead of our original target, all 3-year-olds in England whose parents want one, will have access to a free, part-time early education place.

Parliamentary Questions

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will answer the Question tabled by the hon. Member for Winchester on 14 January, ref 147904, in relation to security passes.

Stephen Twigg: A reply has been issued today.

Pathfinder Schools (Additional Staff)

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to provide security of tenure after 200506 for additional staff taken on in pathfinder schools to meet the requirement of the workload agreement pilot; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: holding answer 17 March 2004
	As part of the Pathfinder project, funding was made available for those schools that employed additional support staff. It was made clear to schools that this funding was provided for the financial years 200203 and 200304 only and that they would need to consider how to mainstream posts within their base budgets after the programme came to an end.

Prisoner Education

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent by prisons in England and Wales on providing (a) basic skills entry level tuition, (b) basic skills level 1 tuition, (c) basic skills level 2 tuition and (d) key work skills tuition in 200203.

Ivan Lewis: The total spend in 200203 on contracted education hours was 52,305,802. We estimate that 37 per cent. of this was spent on the delivery of literacy, numeracy and English as a Second Language (ESOL) in 2002/03, against all other education.
	This spend cannot be split into separate basic skills levels because contracted education hours are not disaggregated by the level of basic skills delivered. We fund prisons to give them flexibility to respond to the range of learning needs in their population.
	In 200203 the funding for vocational training was the responsibility of the Prison Service. However, in April 2003, 12 million per annum was transferred from the Prison Service to DfES for vocational training.

Prisoner Education

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many prisoners (a) commenced and (b) successfully completed basic skills training in 200203; and how many (i) entry level awards, (ii) level 1 awards, (iii) level 2 awards and (iv) key work skills awards there were.

Ivan Lewis: We currently collect overall information on participation and achievement at establishment level. We want to put in place an individual level database which will provide us with this sort of information in the future, not just on prisoners but also on offenders under supervision in the community. This will be increasingly important as we implement the National Offender Management Service and move towards greater use of intermittent custody.
	In 200203 prisoners achieved: (i) 9,120 basic skills awards at entry level, (ii) 17208 at level 1, and (iii) 15,190 at level 2. They also achieved (iv) 89,092 awards in work skills.

Project Funding

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many (a) solely state-financed and (b) public-private partnership and private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible have been launched in each region in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how much was spent by (a) the Government on solely state-financed projects and (b) the (i) Government and (ii) private sector on public-private and private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible, in each of the last 10 years, broken down by region.

David Miliband: The following table shows capital support (excluding the Private Finance Initiative) for investment in school buildings for which data are readily available.
	
		 million
		
			  199697 199798 199899 19992000 200001 200102 200203 200304 
		
		
			  
			  
			 East Midlands 28.3 34.7 57.7 74.3 145.7 130.9 160.8 188.0 
			 East of England 44.1 48.2 68.4 82.9 193.3 152.4 204.7 281.8 
			 London 80.8 95.8 123.7 142.0 232.6 221.6 310.3 407.5 
			 North East 28.4 34.9 47.6 74.3 111.4 108.2 110.9 168.0 
			 North West and West Merseyside 81.4 94.0 126.9 148.3 270.1 239.4 304.0 368.3 
			 South East 110.2 115.6 133.1 139.6 272.7 226.6 335.9 466.3 
			 South West 59.3 65.6 83.3 97.5 174.9 155.7 226.6 287.2 
			 West Midlands 65.4 50.2 79.5 89.7 191.4 150.7 214.3 272.0 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 57.5 52.1 79.6 141.4 224.4 200.4 238.7 248.7 
			 Total 555.4 591.0 799.7 989.9 1816.5 1585.7 2106.2 2687.7 
		
	
	For information on PFI projects I would refer you to the Signed Projects List, which can be found on the Treasury website: http://www.hm- treasury.gov.uk/documents/public private partnerships/ppp pfi stats.cfm. This list, which can be searched by department and region, includes all PFI deals signed over the last 10 years. It contains information on the capital value of each project signed. The list is compiled from departmental returns to the Treasury and was last updated in July 2003.

Pupil/Teacher Contact

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the guidance he gives on the physical contact appropriate between teachers and primary school children.

Margaret Hodge: My Department does not give guidance specifically about physical contact between teachers and primary school children. However, my Department's Circular 10/98: Section 550A of the Education Act 1996: The Use of Force to Control or Restrain Pupils, which gives guidance about the right of teacher's to use reasonable force to control or restrain pupils in certain circumstances, also includes advice about physical contact with pupils in other circumstances. The Circular points out that there is a variety of circumstances in which physical contact with a pupil may be appropriate or necessary: that teachers need to exercise their professional judgment about this, and that they should avoid touching pupils in ways that might cause distress or raise concerns. Similar advice is available on the internet in the child protection area of my Department's Teachernet website.

Railways

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what role his Department plays in warning children of the dangers of playing on or near railways.

Stephen Twigg: Education about safety is included in the curriculum through the framework of Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE). In PSHE lessons pupils are taught about rules for, and ways of, keeping safe, to recognise the risks that apply in different situations and then to decide how to behave responsibly. They should be taught to recognise and manage risk, to be aware when pressure from others threatens their personal safety and to develop assertiveness techniques when dealing with unhelpful pressure.
	Although there is no specific requirement on schools to warn pupils about the dangers of playing on or near railways, teachers may well use such situations to illustrate risk more broadly.

Return-to-work Training

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many women in Buckingham have visited an information and communications technology training centre in order to learn skills to return to work.

Ivan Lewis: In the period October 2003December 2003 1 , 1,213 people visited a UK Online centre in Buckingham. 680 (56 per cent.) of these people were women.
	Since learndirect was launched in 1999, 498 people from Buckingham have enrolled on a learndirect course. 257 (52 per cent.) of these people were women. Of the total number of women who enrolled on a course 25 per cent. did so in order to learn skills to return to work.
	1 There are no statistics available for UK online prior to September 2003 as the DfES did not collect this data on a centre by centre basis.

Return-to-work Training

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) men and (b) women in Chorley have visited an information and communications technology centre to learn skills to return to work.

Ivan Lewis: In the period October 2003December 2003 1 , 1,111 people visited a UK Online centre in Chorley. The split between men and women was 489 (44 per cent.) men and 622 (56 per cent.) women.
	Since learndirect was launched in 1999, 973 people from Chorley have enrolled on a learndirect course. The split between men and women was 575 (59 per cent.) women and 398 (41 per cent.) men.
	1 There are no statistics available for UK online prior to September 2003 as the DfES did not collect this data on a centre by centre basis.

School Exclusions

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 9 March 2004, Official Report, column 1381W, on school exclusions (cannabis), when the first term's data, on the reasons for exclusions from schools, will be available.

Ivan Lewis: We plan to publish information from the first term's data on exclusions alongside the Statistical First Release on Permanent Exclusions from Schools and Exclusion Appeals in England 2002/03 (provisional), in May 2004.

School Field Trips

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what safety advice is given to schools in relation to field trips; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many serious accidents have been reported to the Health and Safety Executive over the last five years which have taken place on (a) school trips and (b) school premises;
	(3)  what impact he anticipates that the guidance relating to school field trips recently issued by the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers in relation to the participation of teachers in school field trips will have upon participation by teachers in those elements of the 14 to 19 curriculum which are required to be supported by fieldwork; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: My Department has issued Health and Safety guidance to LEAs and schools about the whole range of educational visits including field studies. My Department supports all visits that have clear educational objectives and are carefully risk assessed and managed. Guidelines recently re-issued by NASUWT advise members to consider whether to take part in visits, and advise those who do to heed guidance from their employer and from my Department. A few teachers have been subject to legal action but I am pleased that most teachers continue to take pupils on visits. I expect field visits and other outdoor activities to thrive as teachers become more competent in supervision following visits coordinator training pump-primed by my Department in 2003. The Health and Safety Executive in 200102 received reports of 6,363 accidents affecting employees and others in primary and secondary education (including one fatality) and in 200203 5,812 (including three fatalities). Earlier or more detailed figures are not available.

School Innovation

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools have applied to the Department for (a) power to innovate, broken down by area of innovation applied for and (b) earned autonomy, broken down by reason for the application, as a result of the Education Act 2002.

David Miliband: There have been 46 applications from schools to use the Power to Innovate as follows:
	
		
			 Quantity Relevant legislation Innovation 
		
		
			 4 The Changing of School Session Times (England) Regulations 1999 To extend the length of the school day mid academic year, rather than wait until the beginning of the new school year. The purpose of the innovation was to provide extra curricular activities for pupils, freeing up time for teachers to work on planning, preparation, and to draw up education plans for individual pupils. 
			 1 The Changing of School Session Times (England) Regulations 1999 To change the timings of the school day without the requirements set out in regulations to give the minimum of three months notice to parents and to consult parents at a meeting (instead parents were consulted by correspondence). The purpose of the innovation was to end the school day one hour early on alternate Wednesdays from September 2003, allowing staff to have a dedicated two-hour period once a fortnight for planning, preparation, assessment, and to hold meetings. 
			 1 The Education (National Curriculum) (KS2 Assessment Arrangements) (England) Order 2003 Exemption sought from Key Stage 2 National Curriculum testing while replacing these tests with on-going teacher assessment procedures. 
			 1 The Education (National Curriculum) (KS3 Assessment Arrangements) (England) Order 2003 Exemption sought from Key Stage 3 National Curriculum testing while replacing these tests with teacher assessed levels and within school monitoring and evaluation processes. 
			 1 The Education (School Day and School Year) (England) Regulations 1999 To deliver the National Curriculum over four extended days freeing up Fridays to offer targeted activities for pupils. 
			 38 The Education (School Day and School Year) To increase the number of INSET days for activities including: 
			  (England) Regulations 1999 Target setting days 
			   Collaborative work between schools 
			   Professional development days for teachers 
			   Curriculum planning 
		
	
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Ashford (Mr. Green) on Earned Autonomy on 23 September 2003.

School Meals

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what guidance has been issued to local education authorities in relation to the (a) cost and (b) quality of free school meal provision;
	(2)  what guidelines he has issued to assist schools and local education authorities in assessing the nutritional value of school meals.

Stephen Twigg: The Department for Education and Skills has produced guidance entitled 'Healthy School Lunches' for school caterers on implementing national nutritional standards, the standards apply to both free and paid for meals. Annex cii of the guidance provides details to caterers on how to assess the nutritional value of school meals. The guidance can be viewed on the website: www.dfes.gov.uk/schoollunches. In addition, the Secretary of State recommends that the value of a free school meal should be set to enable children to have a standard two course lunch and drink.

School Staff Redundancies

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) teachers and (b) support staff in (I) primary and (ii) secondary schools he estimates will be made redundant in (A) 200304 and (B) 200405 as a result of falling rolls; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: My right hon. Friend has made no such estimates. Decisions on the employment and deployment of teachers and support staff are for local education authorities and school governing bodies.

Sector Skills Councils

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the network of sector skills councils will be operational.

Ivan Lewis: Good progress is being made in setting up the Skills for Business Network. Eleven Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) have now been awarded five year licences to operate by the Secretary of State. We expect to have around 20 SSCs in place by summer 2004 with a further three joining the network by the end of 2004.

Security Passes

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many security passes have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen by staff in (i) his Department and (ii) departmental agencies in the last 12 months;
	(2)  how many security passes have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen by staff in his Department in the last 12 months.

Stephen Twigg: My Department has since 1 January 2003 the following lost and stolen passes reported:
	401 security passes have been reported lost by staff in the Department for Education and Skills.
	32 security passes have been reported stolen by staff in the Department for Education and Skills.
	No security passes have been reported lost or stolen in the Department for Education and Skills' agencies.

Skills Courses (London)

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students were attending (a) English as a second language and (b) basic skills courses in London in the latest month for which figures are available, broken down by borough.

Ivan Lewis: The numbers of enrolments in Greater London on (a) English as a second language (ESOL) and (b) other Basic Skills courses in London in 2002/03 are set out below. A breakdown by borough is not available, a split is provided by Local Learning Skills Council (LSC).
	
		Enrolments on adult basic skills courses in Greater London in 200203(31) -- Thousands
		
			 Local LSC (a) ESOL (b) Basic skills in literary and numeracy 
		
		
			 London Central 49 21 
			 London East 43 30 
			 London North 23 10 
			 London South 17 11 
			 London West 38 11 
			 Total 170 83 
		
	
	(31) Note figures are based on learning aims so may count a learner more than once.
	Source
	Learning and Skills Council

Schools Funding

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been allocated to schools in Chorley for information and communications technologies since 2001.

Charles Clarke: I refer my hon. Friend to my response to his question about funding for computers in schools in Chorley for the last seven years on 16 March 2004, Official Report, column 226W.

Skills Shortages

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on addressing skills shortages through programmes developed in conjunction with the Learning and Skills Council.

Ivan Lewis: The Skills Strategy White Paper21st Century Skills, Realising Our Potentialset out our ambitious programme to tackle skills shortages. It commits the Government, the Learning and Skills Council and other key partners to a radical strategy of demand-led provision of skills, meeting the needs of employers as expressed through the new Sector Skills Councils, 12 of which are already licensed. New Regional Skills Partnerships will bring together the key players to ensure specific regional skills shortages are addressed, and the whole strategy is overseen at a national level by the Skills Alliance.

Small Businesses (Support)

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the support programmes for small businesses that (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have financed in each of the last five years; how much money was allocated for each scheme in each year; how much money has gone unclaimed under each scheme; and how many small businesses have benefited from each scheme.

Charles Clarke: holding answer 15 March 2004
	The Cross-cutting review of Government services for small business was published in December 2002, and outlines the services provided to small businesses from across Government. My Department and its agencies provides indirect support to small business through measures aimed at workforce development. Some support, but are not restricted to, small businesses, others are specifically for small businesses. The principle programmes through which my Department has supported small business over the last five years are:
	The Small Firms Training Loans
	(SFTL) programme was introduced in Great Britain in 1994 and closed on 1 February 2003. Firms could borrow between 500 and 125,000 for vocational training, with a repayment holiday of between six and 12 months. The Department paid the interest on the loan during this period and provided a loan default guarantee. The loan repayment term was for up to seven years. Over the life of the scheme 211 loans totalling 1,344,000 were made by Banks, at a programme cost of 533,000. Key Worker Initiative
	For businesses employing 10 to 49 people was launched in 1998 and finished in 2000. Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) delivered this programme.
	Employer Learning Networks
	A 2.5 million ELN challenge fund was set up in 200001 to encourage collaborative action by employers in England. The fund supported 18 projects, which covered some of the smaller firms (with less than 50 employees) across a range of sectors.
	Investors in People (IiP)
	The National HP programme 1997 included targets for coverage of the workforce and small firms (employing 10 to 49 people) to be achieved by 2002. TECs delivered this initially, it was taken over by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) when it succeeded the TECs in April 2001.
	Investors in People Small Firms Initiative
	(SFI) was launched on 27 February 2003, as a partnership between the LSC, IiP UK and the SBS. SFI aims to boost the performance, capability and competitiveness of small firms by encouraging them to achieve recognition against the HP standard. The initiative offers business support up to the value of 1,250 to individual small companies on a first come first served basis. The initiative has a budget of 30 million; we will know final take up in March 2005.
	Employer Training Pilots (ETPs)
	ETPs are currently operating in 12 Learning and Skills Council (LSC) areas. six began in September 2002 with a budget of  40 million. A further six commenced in September 2003 and the existing six were extended for a further year using an additional  130 million. Of the 7,000 employers that had signed up for ETPs at the end of January 2004 71 per cent. (4,970) had less than 50 employees. In December 2003 the Chancellor announced an extra  120 million to extend the existing 12 by a further year and to create a further six pilots.
	Leadership and Management
	In collaboration with DTI, IIP, Ufi, LSC and others we are trialling a new flexible Leadership and Management development programme for owner-managers and CEOs of SMEs (20250 staff). The overall budget is 43.7 million over the period 200304 to 200506. Six Pathfinder areas are setting up in February and March and employers are expected to participate from April 2004.

Student Finance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Birkenhead on 23 February 2004, Official Report, column 209W, on student finance, what estimate he has made of how many of those dependent students eligible for the full combined grant in 200607 will be from (a) single parent households, (b) two-parent households where both parents are working and (c) two-parent households where one parents is working (i) in absolute terms and as (ii) a proportion of all students.

Alan Johnson: The requested data are not available at this stage.

Teacher Vacancies

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teacher vacancies there were in Buckingham on the latest date for which figures are available; and what steps he is taking to reduce them.

David Miliband: The information is not available in the form requested. In January 2003, there were 47 vacancies for full-time teachers in maintained schools in the Buckinghamshire Local Education Authority (LEA) area, which includes Buckingham.
	Like other areas, since 1997 Buckingham has benefited from the initiatives that the Government have put in place to recruit and retain teachers and to increase the number of staff supporting them in schools. Since 1997, the number of full-time equivalent regular teachers in maintained schools in the former Buckinghamshire LEA area has risen by 770, from 5,370 to 6,140 in 2003. Over the same period, the number of full-time equivalent school support staff in the area has grown by 1,270, from 1,880 to 3,150.

Teaching Assistants

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teaching assistants there were in Buckingham (a) in each of the last seven years and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available.

David Miliband: In Buckingham constituency there were 99 full-time equivalent teaching assistants in service in maintained schools in 2003, the latest information available. The table gives the corresponding numbers since 1997.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 54 
			 1998 61 
			 1999 68 
			 2000 69 
			 2001 64 
			 2002 119 
		
	
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census.

Teaching Assistants

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teaching assistants there were in schools in Chorley (a) in each of the last seven years and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available.

David Miliband: In Chorley constituency there were 257 full-time equivalent teaching assistants in service in maintained schools in 2003, the latest information available. The table gives the corresponding numbers since 1997.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 97 
			 1998 114 
			 1999 121 
			 2000 143 
			 2001 177 
			 2002 157 
		
	
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census.

Teenage Pregnancy

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the NHS's progress towards meeting the target of a 15 per cent. reduction in teenage pregnancy by 2004.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 16 March 2004
	Provisional data for 2002 published on 26 February by the Office for National Statistics shows that conceptions among under 18 year olds in England have fallen by 9.4 per cent. since 1998. Data for 2004 will be available in February 2006 on the 2004 NHS interim target of a 15 per cent. reduction in teenage pregnancy.

Temporary Classrooms

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools use temporary mobile classroom accommodation, broken down by region; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: holding answer 17 March 2004
	The attached table shows the number of schools with temporary classrooms in each Local Education Authority. It is based on data provided to the Department by Authorities as part of the asset management planning process. The bulk of schools capital is now allocated by formula to Authorities and schools so that they can address their local priorities, including the replacement of decayed temporary accommodation. Prioritisation of need through asset management planning should be an open, rigorous and consultative process, based on surveys of the needs of all schools. The Department does not collect detailed information on investment plans or timetables of Authorities. The Department does not encourage the replacement of defective permanent accommodation with temporary mobile classroom accommodation but accepts the necessity in some cases to respond to short term need or emergencies.
	
		Numbers of schools with temporary buildings
		
			 LEA Schools with temporary buildings 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 7 
			 Barnet  
			 Barnsley 26 
			 Bath and North East Somerset  
			 Bedfordshire 108 
			 Bexley 56 
			 Birmingham 196 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 1 
			 Blackpool 1 
			 Bolton 6 
			 Bournemouth 17 
			 Bracknell Forest 20 
			 Bradford 52 
			 Brent 36 
			 Brighton and Hove 27 
			 Bristol, City of 65 
			 Bromley 16 
			 Buckinghamshire 49 
			 Bury  
			 Calderdale  
			 Cambridgeshire 80 
			 Camden 0 
			 Cheshire 154 
			 City of London  
			 Cornwall 97 
			 Coventry 13 
			 Croydon 60 
			 Cumbria 35 
			 Darlington  
			 Derby 25 
			 Derbyshire 177 
			 Devon 175 
			 Doncaster  
			 Dorset 35 
			 Dudley 59 
			 Durham 36 
			 Ealing 54 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 63 
			 East Sussex 96 
			 Enfield  
			 Essex 340 
			 Gateshead 35 
			 Gloucestershire  
			 Greenwich  
			 Hackney 10 
			 Halton 13 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 0 
			 Hampshire 263 
			 Haringey 21 
			 Harrow 58 
			 Hartlepool 5 
			 Havering 1 
			 Herefordshire 47 
			 Hertfordshire 188 
			 Hillingdon 44 
			 Hounslow 40 
			 Isle of Wight 53 
			 Isles of Scilly  
			 Islington 9 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 3 
			 Kent 358 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of 35 
			 Kingston upon Thames 0 
			 Kirklees 69 
			 Knowsley  
			 Lambeth 28 
			 Lancashire 28 
			 Leeds 119 
			 Leicester 56 
			 Leicestershire 196 
			 Lewisham 22 
			 Lincolnshire 160 
			 Liverpool 25 
			 Luton  
			 Manchester 23 
			 Medway  
			 Merton 3 
			 Middlesbrough 17 
			 Milton Keynes 15 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne  
			 Newham 46 
			 Norfolk 308 
			 North East Lincolnshire 26 
			 North Lincolnshire 58 
			 North Somerset 50 
			 North Tyneside 21 
			 North Yorkshire  
			 Northamptonshire 148 
			 Northumberland 1 
			 Nottinghamshire 99 
			 Oldham 24 
			 Oxfordshire 128 
			 Peterborough 34 
			 Plymouth 40 
			 Poole 23 
			 Portsmouth 5 
			 Reading 1 
			 Redbridge 0 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 14 
			 Richmond upon Thames 12 
			 Rochdale  
			 Rotherham 63 
			 Rutland 3 
			 Salford 4 
			 Sandwell 25 
			 Sefton 26 
			 Sheffield 60 
			 Shropshire 55 
			 Slough 19 
			 Solihull 48 
			 Somerset 187 
			 South Gloucestershire  
			 South Tyneside  
			 Southampton 29 
			 Southend-on-Sea 25 
			 Southwark 8 
			 St. Helens 9 
			 Staffordshire 181 
			 Stockport 38 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 31 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 78 
			 Suffolk  
			 Sunderland 18 
			 Surrey  
			 Sutton 44 
			 Swindon 52 
			 Tameside 36 
			 Telford and Wrekin 46 
			 Thurrock  
			 Torbay 27 
			 Tower Hamlets 9 
			 Trafford  
			 Wakefield  
			 Walsall 10 
			 Waltham Forest 11 
			 Wandsworth 9 
			 Warrington 21 
			 Warwickshire 142 
			 West Berkshire 40 
			 West Sussex 170 
			 Westminster 0 
			 Wigan 23 
			 Wiltshire 102 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 27 
			 Wirral 58 
			 Wokingham 40 
			 Wolverhampton  
			 Worcestershire 109 
			 York 30 
		
	
	Where no figures are shown, either no data have been supplied by LEAs, or there are clearly significant data anomalies.

Youth Services

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent on youth services by each local authority in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum/Immigration

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence his Department has received on the possible scale of inward migration to the UK from EU accession states; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: A number of studies have been published which offer estimates of total net flows to the United Kingdom from the accession countries, but these do not of course take account of the measures we announced on 23 February 2004 and the steps we are taking to publicise them in the countries most concerned.
	The registration scheme announced by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is designed to monitor the number of A-8 nationals registering as workers and collate information about the nature and location of the jobs they are doing.

Asylum/Immigration

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to which authority a person can report an individual whose visa conditions to remain in the United Kingdom have expired.

Beverley Hughes: Information of this nature can be passed to the Home Office's Immigration and Nationality Directorate in Croydon or direct to the nearest Immigration Service office.
	Alternatively, a person may pass information on immigration offences anonymously to Crimestoppers, who will forward it to the appropriate Immigration Service office.

Asylum/Immigration

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration judicial review applications there have been in the last two years for which figures are available; and of those, how many took (a) more than six months and (b) more than one year from first application to final conclusion.

David Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of immigration judicial review applications for the last two years are as follows:
	
		2002
		
			  
		
		
			  
			 Immigration (asylum) 3,076 
			 Immigration (non-asylum) 164 
			 Total: 3,240 
		
	
	
		2003
		
			  
		
		
			  
			 Immigration (asylum) 2,171 
			 Immigration (non-asylum) 144 
			 Total: 2,315 
		
	
	The Administrative Court is unable to provide information on how many of these cases took (a) more than six months and (b) more than one year without incurring disproportionate costs. However I can give the average waiting times for the judicial review process for 2002 and 2003.
	The average waiting time for processing paper applications for permission to apply for judicial review, including the time that cases were stood out pending decisions and subsequent appeals in lead/test cases, was for:
	
		2002
		
			  Weeks 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Immigration asylum cases: 9.9 
			 Immigration non asylum cases: 9.6 
		
	
	
		2003
		
			  Weeks 
		
		
			  
			 Immigration asylum cases: 8.5 
			 Immigration non asylum cases: 8.5 
		
	
	Of those that renewed to an oral hearing, the average waiting time from the date of receipt of the application to renew to the renewal decision, including the time that cases were stood out pending decisions and subsequent appeals in lead/test cases, was for:
	
		2002:
		
			  Weeks 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Immigration asylum cases: 6.5 
			 Immigration non asylum cases: 6.2 
		
	
	
		2003
		
			  Weeks 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Immigration asylum cases 6.1 
			 Immigration non asylum cases 6.5 
		
	
	Of the 130 cases in 2002 and the 115 cases in 2003 which proceeded to a substantive hearing, the waiting time from date of issue of proceedings to the date of final determination, including the time that cases were stood out pending decisions and subsequent appeals in lead/test cases, was for:
	
		2002
		
			  Weeks 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Immigration asylum cases (117 cases): 33.9 
			 Immigration Non asylum cases (13 cases): 54 
		
	
	
		2003
		
			  Weeks 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Immigration asylum cases (103 cases) 36.6 
			 Immigration non-asylum cases (12 cases) 49.6

Asylum/Immigration

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers whose applications or appeals are pending are (a) single men under 25, (b) single women under 25 and (c) families with children under 16.

Beverley Hughes: Data on asylum applicants awaiting an initial decision or the outcome of an appeal hearing, by age or sex are unavailable and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
	At the 31 December 2003 there were 24,500l 1 r asylum cases awaiting an initial decision, 40 per cent. lower than 41,300 at the end of December 2002. As at 31 December 2003, there were an estimated 12,000 appeals lodged with the Home Office, which had not been sent to the Immigration Appellate Authority, 60 per cent. lower than at the end of December 2002. A proportion of appeals lodged with the Home Office do not result in appeal bundles being sent to the IAA. The total asylum work in progress in the IAA as at 31 December 2003, was 27,200 (15,500l 1 r at the Adjudicator Tier, 7,100l 1 r applications for permission to appeal to the tribunal, and 4,600l 1 r tribunal appeals), a slight increase from 27,100 at the end of December 2002.
	Information on the age and sex of principal applicants and their dependants relating to asylum applications made in 2002 is published in the Home Office annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom 2002, copies of which are available in the Library of the House and on the Research Development and Statistics web site http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1. html

Asylum/Immigration

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum were received in 2003 from citizens of the Maldives; and how many were approved.

Beverley Hughes: In 2003, from nationals of the Maldives there were less than three applications for asylum in the UK, less than three initial decisions (all of which were refusals on non-compliance grounds) and less than three appeal determinations by IAA (all of which were dismissed). Initial decisions may relate to applications received in previous years and appeal determinations may relate to initial decisions in previous years. All data are provisional and exclude dependants.
	Information on asylum applications, initial decisions and appeal outcomes is published in quarterly web pages and in the annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom, available from the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Asylum/Immigration

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have (a) entered Wales and (b) applied to live in Wales in each year since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: I regret that the requested information on how many asylum seekers have entered Wales is not available. Asylum applications relate to the UK as a whole. The table gives the available data, on the numbers of those asylum seekers living in Wales who are supported by National Asylum Support Service. (NASS) as at the end of each quarter since December 2001.
	
		
			 As at end: In receipt of subsistence only support Supported in NASS accommodation 
		
		
			 December 2001 140 700 
			 March 2002 160 1,020 
			 June 2002 175 1,150 
			 September 2002 180 1,405 
			 December 2002 180 1,585 
			 March 2003 185 1,870 
			 June 2003 175 2,130 
			 September 2003 160 2,350 
			 December 2003 145 2,490 
		
	
	Notes:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
	Information on the number of asylum seekers supported by MASS is published in the regular quarterly asylum statistics, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html. The next publication covering the first quarter of 2004 will be available at the end of May.
	Information on how many of those supported in MASS accommodation in Wales who had applied to live there is not available.

Asylum/Immigration

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers who were located in Wales had their (a) application to remain and (b) appeal rejected in each year since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: Asylum seekers make applications for refugee status rather than for leave to remain. Applications may result in grants of refugee status, in refusals of refugee status but grants of humanitarian protection, discretionary leave to remain, or in outright refusals. In April 2003 humanitarian protection (HP) and discretionary leave to remain (DL) replaced exceptional leave to remain (ELR). Applications for further leave following Grants of HP and DL are subject to active review.
	Information on initial decisions and appeal outcomes relating to asylum applicants located in Wales is unavailable and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The available Information on asylum application, decisions and appeal outcomes is published quarterly. The next publication covering the first quarter of 2004 will be available at the end of May on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Asylum/Immigration

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the (a) accommodation, (b) subsistence and (c) other costs in respect of asylum seekers resident in Wales in each of the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: Information relating to accommodation costs is regarded as commercially sensitive and it would not be appropriate to disclose it.
	Information relating to subsistence and other costs for asylum seekers resident in Wales is not available on a geographic basis and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Asylum/Immigration

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals have claimed asylum upon arrival at Northern Ireland (a) ports and (b) airports in each of the past five years; and from what countries they originated.

Beverley Hughes: Information on asylum applications lodged in individual regions of the UK is not available and could be obtained at only disproportionate cost.
	Information on asylum applications is published quarterly. The next publication covering the second quarter of 2004 will be available at the end of May on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate web site at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Asylum/Immigration

Iain Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost to public funds of an appeal to an Asylum Support Adjudicator was in each of the last three years; and what the average length of time for the determination of an appeal brought before an Asylum Support Adjudicator was in each of the last three years.

Beverley Hughes: The average cost for Asylum Support Adjudicator (ASA) appeals for each of the last three years were as follows:
	
		
			  Expenditure() Number of appeals Unit cost () 
		
		
			 200001 492,000 257 1,914 
			 200102 1 million 2,141 467 
			 200203 1.2 million 3,813 317 
		
	
	The information for the second part of this question is not available.

Asylum/Immigration

Iain Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what mechanism his Department is monitoring the impact of section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 on (a) rough sleeping and (b) overcrowding in London.

Beverley Hughes: The Homelessness and Housing Support Directorate in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has been monitoring the effect of section 55 through regular contact with local authorities, in particular those who have significant rough sleeping problems. Local authorities obtain this information through regular feedback from their outreach teams and other services in their areas. They have been asked to report immediately if anyone is found sleeping rough who has been refused support under Section 55. No evidence has been received that there has been any significant increase in rough sleeping levels due to Section 55.
	In London the Refugee Council, Refugee Arrivals Project and Migrant Helpline are grant funded to provide emergency accommodation to asylum seekers awaiting dispersal, including those awaiting decisions under section 55. Such accommodation must comply with all relevant statutory housing regulations.

Asylum/Immigration

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many abscondees from the Oakington Immigration Reception Centre there were in each of the last 12 months.

Beverley Hughes: The number of escapes from Oakington Immigration Reception Centre in each month from January to December 2003 (the latest month for which data are available) is shown in the table.
	
		Escapes from Oakington Immigration Reception Centre January to December 2003(32) , (33)
		
			  Number of Persons 
		
		
			  
			  
			 January  
			 February  
			 March 2 
			 April 4 
			 May 10 
			 June 5 
			 July 9 
			 August 17 
			 September 19 
			 October 7 
			 November 10 
			 December 1 
			 Total 84 
		
	
	(32) Figures obtained from local management information
	(33) Provisional data

Asylum/Immigration

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is taken to remove an asylum seeker once their application has been rejected.

Beverley Hughes: All asylum applicants have a statutory right of appeal in the event of an adverse decision on their asylum application. If all appeal rights have been exhausted the Immigration Service assess whether that person is removable and, if so, set removal directions. The Immigration Service then makes the necessary arrangements to remove the failed asylum seeker from the United Kingdom.

Asylum/Immigration

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms are used to monitor the impact of section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 on levels of destitution among people seeking asylum.

Beverley Hughes: The Homelessness and Housing Support Directorate in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has been monitoring the effect of section 55 through regular contact with local authorities, in particular those who have significant rough sleeping problems. Local authorities obtain this information through regular feedback from their outreach teams and other services in their areas. They have been asked to report immediately if anyone is found sleeping rough who has been refused support under section 55. No evidence has been received that there has been any significant increase in rough sleeping levels due to Section 55.

Asylum/Immigration

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each (a) London borough and (b) local authority for each of the last three years the number of properties provided by (i) local authorities, (ii) housing associations and (iii) the private sector to the National Asylum Support Service.

Beverley Hughes: The information is not available in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Asylum/Immigration

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases the detention of children under immigration law for more than 28 days has been subject to ministerial authorisation since 1 January; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: Management information indicates that on the 26 January 2004 35 children were in detention who were detained solely under Immigration Act powers. Three quarters of those had been in detention for 14 days or less and the remainder had been detained for less than four months. These individuals were all detained as part of families whose detention as a group was considered necessary.
	Records show that all children held in detention under immigration law for a period greater than 28 days since 1 January have been subject to ministerial authorisation.

Child Seatbelts

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drivers were (a) cautioned, (b) charged and (c) arrested for carrying child passengers who failed to wear seatbelts in the last year for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: Available information held centrally, on police action taken for motoring offences, does not distinguish between passenger and driver seat belt offences, nor whether children are involved.

Detention Centres

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what formal notifications are required when the ownership of a custody or detention centre operated by private companies on behalf of the Government is transferred to another company (a) before and (b) after transfer.

Beverley Hughes: The Contract contains a provision requiring the Contractor to notify the Home Office if there is a change of more than 3 per cent. in the ownership of the company. A change of control for the Contractor requires the prior written approval of the Home Officesuch approval not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed. If shares are listed in the stock exchange such consent is to be obtained as soon as the Contractor becomes aware of the change of control.

Detention Centres

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has been consulted over plans to change the ownership of Yarlswood Detention Centre from Group 4 (Falck); and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: My right hon. friend, the Home Secretary, has not been consulted. However there are no current plans to change the ownership of the Yarlswood Removal Centre. The contract is currently run by Global Solutions UK Ltd. (GSL) a division of Group 4 Falck.
	There have been recent press announcements regarding the potential merger of Group 4 Falck with Securicor. This relates to the division of Group 4 Falck which deals with cash in transit and guarding business, and does not affect the custodial business run by Global Solutions. In conjunction with the merger Group 4 Falck will separate its security business from the GSL business. GSL will be a division of the Group 4 company to be listed as Falck A/S.
	As with all public sector contracts, performance will be subject to regular review, and continued provision of the service dependent upon satisfactory performance.

Drug Testing

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his statement of 14 January 2004, Official Report, column 279WH, on drug testing, if he will place a copy of the National Workplace Strategy he referred to in the Library; if he will list the members of the steering group, with their organisation; and if he will list the dates, place and length of the meetings of the steering group referred to.

Caroline Flint: Yes, a copy of the National Workplace Strategy can be placed in the Library. In total there have been 13 steering group meetings. The first steering group meeting was held on 10 October 2002, then 5 November 2002, 9 December 2002, 27 January 2003, 12 February 2003, 25 March 2003, 29 April 2003, 28 May 2003, 24 June 2003, 22 July 2003, 30 September 2003, 28 October 2003, 25 November 2003 and 27 January 2004.
	In general, each meeting lasted two hours and venues changed for each meeting.
	Members of the Steering Group include:
	1. Richard Ivers, Home Office (Chair)
	2. Ciara Shannon, Home Office
	3. Robin Burgess, Home Office
	4. Jacob Hawkins, Home Office
	5. Judith Hind, Department of Health
	6. Paul McCormack, Health and Safety Executive
	7. Yolande Burgin, Independent Inquiry into Drug Testing at Work
	8. Jude Grandison, Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
	9. Tom Mellish, Trades Union Congress (TUC)
	10. Corrina Langelaan, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
	11. Matthew Knowles, British Chambers of Commerce (BCC)
	12. John Jolly, KCA (UK) Workplace Services Ltd.
	13. Patricia Armstrong, KCA (UK) Workplace Services Ltd.
	14. Frank Warburton, Drugscope
	15. Sheryl Hobbs, Alcohol Concern
	16. Christine Hayhurst, Chartered Management Institute (CMI)
	17. Sally Ann Cole, Herts DAT
	18. lan Kirk, Kent DAT
	19. John Harmer, Kent DAT
	20. Louise Spencer, South Gloucester DAT
	21. Joe Gillam, City of London DAT
	22. Micky Hewish, New Generation Training Ltd.
	23. Ben Wilson, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD)
	24. David Macintosh, London Drugs Policy Forum

Drug Users (Greater London)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of people in Greater London who take (a) heroin, (b) marijuana, (c) cocaine and (d) ecstasy.

Caroline Flint: In 200102 there were 4.6 million 16 to 59-year-olds living in London. Among this population the British Crime Survey estimates prevalence of illicit drug use was 0.1 per cent. for heroin, 14 per cent. for cannabis, 4.2 per cent. for cocaine and 3.5 per cent. for ecstasy.

Environmentally Sustainable Procurement

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what ways environmentally sustainable procurement strategies within the Department have driven innovation in the design and supply of products.

Fiona Mactaggart: Within the Home Office there are currently no examples of environmentally sustainable procurement strategies that have driven innovation in the design and supply of products. However, it is expected that the forthcoming procurement section of the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate will set Governmentwide commitments for embedding sustainable development considerations in departmental procurement strategies. The Department will adopt the considerations in the framework as this will help to encourage environmental innovation in the design and supply of products.
	The department supports the introduction of new environmental sustainable products that become available on the market and has adopted a positive stance to environmentally sustainable procurement in the following areas, recycled paper, green electricity, energy use, and recycling of redundant IT hardware.

EU Accession Countries

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he plans to take to prevent an increase in illegal working following the expansion of the European Union on 1 May.

Beverley Hughes: The free movement of accession nationals will apply across the whole of the EU from May 1. The Government's policy is to welcome accession nationals coming here to work but not simply to claim benefits. This will prevent an increase in illegal working, ensuring that accession nationals who come here to work will do so legally, paying tax and national insurance rather than being forced into the sub-economy.
	We have also taken steps to strengthen controls on illegal working. We announced on 23 February that we would introduce a registration scheme for workers from eight of the 10 countries joining the European Union on 1 May this year. We announced on 16 March measures to strengthen the law on the prevention of illegal working, section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996.
	The reform of section 8 will bring added clarity and security to the document checks employers must carry out on prospective employees to prevent the use of illegal labour, and the Immigration Service will continue to increase intelligence-led enforcement activity against illegal working. The workers registration scheme will allow these nationals access to our labour market in a monitored way, and will encourage those working here illegally to formalise their status and contribute to the formal economy. Employers will be required to check that a person has registered within 30 days of starting their employment.

EU Enlargement

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many accession countries nationals he expects to arrive in the UK between 1 May and 31 December 2004.

Beverley Hughes: A number of studies have been published which offer estimates of total net flows to the United Kingdom from the accession countries, but these do not of course take account of the measures we announced on 23 February and the steps we are taking to publicise them in the countries most concerned.
	The registration scheme announced by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is designed to monitor the number of A-8 nationals registering as workers and collate information about the nature and location of the jobs they are doing.

Home Security Service

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the resources available to (a) the Surveillance Commissioner, (b) the Information Commissioner and (c) other commissioners involved in supervising the powers and operations of the home security service; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: There are no plans to increase the resources available to the Chief Surveillance Commissioner, who does not have oversight of the Security Service. Nor are there plans at present to increase the resources available to either the Intelligence Services Commissioner or the Interception of Communications Commissioner for their work relating to the Security Service.
	We are increasing the resources available to the Interception Commissioner for his work in overseeing access to communication data by public authorities including the security service. I believe that all are presently, but we keep this position under review.
	The Information Commissioner's remit extends to the Security Service in so far as it is a data controller under the Data Protection Act 1998. Most of the information held by the Service falls under the national security exemption of that Act or the Freedom of Information Act 2000. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, informs me that there are currently no plans to provide additional resources to the Information Commissioner.

Immigration Appeals

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the waiting time was between an immigration appeal case being processed by the Appeals Processing Centre and the papers being sent out to the Immigration Appellate Authority on the latest date for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: Data on the average time between an immigration appeal case being processed by the Appeals Processing Centre and the papers being sent out to the Immigration Appellate Authority is unavailable and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
	It is planned that performance against PSA targets relating to 200304, including those relating to the speed of processing, will be published in due course (once the data are judged sufficiently reliable) in the regular quarterly asylum statistics, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Immigration Service

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK Immigration Service staff are based in Northern Ireland, broken down by grade; and in what locations they are based.

Beverley Hughes: A total of 13 staff are based in Northern Ireland. By grade: one Chief Immigration Officer, nine Immigration Officers (one of whom is part-time), two Assistant Immigration Officers and one administrative assistant.
	All are based at the UK Immigration Service office at Belfast International airport.

Immigration Tribunals (Training)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training is given to Home Office presentation officers before they appear before the Immigration Tribunal and Immigration Appeal Tribunal.

Beverley Hughes: A new Home Office presenting officer initially receives three weeks of classroom-based training. This includes technical, and skills-based elements. This is followed by a period of mentoring by an experienced presenting officer, at the end of which the trainee is ready to represent the Home Office alone in appeals heard before an independent Adjudicator of the Immigration Appellate Authority. Each presenting officer attends a period of consolidation training within three months of completion of initial training.
	Senior presenting officers represent the Home Office in cases heard before the Immigration Appeal Tribunal. Where these staff have previously been experienced presenting officers, an analysis of their skills and abilities is conducted to identify specific areas which may require further training. Training will then be tailored to the individual and conducted by experienced mentors. Those with little or no experience of presenting in court follow a training and mentoring programme similar to that provided to presenting officers, although with more focus on the role of the Tribunal, before they appear alone before the Tribunal.

Intelligence and Security Service Tribunals

John Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints were made to the (a) Security Services Tribunal and (b) Intelligence Services Tribunal in each of the last five years; and how many complaints to each tribunal were upheld in each year.

David Blunkett: The information requested is available in the Annual Reports of the Security Service and Intelligence Services Commissioners that have been laid before Parliament. For convenience, the information is set out in the table.
	
		Number of complaints
		
			  Investigatory Powers Tribunal Security Service Tribunal Intelligence Services Tribunal 
		
		
			 1999  22 5 
			 2000 11(October to December) 22(to end September) 7(to end September) 
			 2001 91   
			 2002 130   
			 2003 Not yet published   
		
	
	The Security Service and Intelligence Services Tribunals were subsumed into the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in 2000 under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. The figures for the Investigatory Powers Tribunal are not separated out and include complaints on interception of communications. No complaint to the tribunals has been upheld.

Mobile Phones

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people have been stopped by police for speaking on a mobile phone while driving since 1 September 2003;
	(2)  what percentage of people stopped by police for speaking on a mobile phone while driving have been cautioned.

Caroline Flint: Information on the number of people stopped by the police for speaking on a mobile phone while driving is not collected centrally.
	The specific offence of driving while using a hand held mobile phone came into effect on 1 December 2003. Use of a hands free mobile phone is not an offence.
	Formal cautions are rarely given for motoring offences. Data on police action (written warnings, fixed penalty notices and court proceedings) for the new offence of driving while using a hand held mobile telephone will not be available until the autumn of 2004.

Official Secrets Act

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to review the operation of the Official Secrets Act 1989.

David Blunkett: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Mr. Shepherd) on 4 March 2004, Official Report, column 1093W.

Police

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in (a) Avon and Somerset and (b) Devon and Cornwall in (i) 19992000, (ii) 200001, (iii) 200102, (iv) 200203 and (v) 200304.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is set out in the tables.
	
		Table 1Avon and Somerset Constabulary
		
			 Year (as at 31 March) Police strength Police (support) staff 
		
		
			 19992000 2,934 1,436 
			 200001 2,960 1,452 
			 200102 3,096 1,611 
			 200203 3,149 1,785 
			 200304(34) 3,371 Not available 
		
	
	(34) Figure is for 31 December 2003
	
		Table 2 Devon and Cornwall Constabulary
		
			 Year (as at 31 March) Police strength Police (support) staff 
		
		
			 19992000 2,841 1,343 
			 200001 2,934 1,453 
			 200102 3,053 1,639 
			 200203 3,202 1,834 
			 200304(35) 3,279 Not available 
		
	
	(35) Figure is for 31 December 2003.

Police Cars

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) marked and (b) unmarked police cars there are in England and Wales.

Hazel Blears: This information is not held centrally.

Police Officers

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many policemen there were in (a) England and Wales and (b) England as per 1,000 population in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: Information on number of officers to 100,000 population has been published annually since 1998 in Home Office Statistical Bulletins Police Service Strength (England and Wales). Information in the table is on the basis of published data and includes additional data on the number of male officers to 100,000 population.
	
		Police officer strength per 100,000 population
		
			  All officers Male officers 
			  England and Wales England England and Wales England 
		
		
			 March 1997 241.3 242.2 205.1 205.5 
			 March 1998 239.9 240.7 202.2 202.5 
			 March 1999 237.2 237.8 199.1 199.3 
			 March 2000 232.6 233.0 194.2 194.3 
			 March 2001 234.3 234.3 194.2 193.9 
			 March 2002 240.4 240.2 197.4 197.0 
			 March 2003(36) 252.3 252.4 205.4 205.3 
		
	
	(36) Uses comparable police strength, which excludes staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.

Representations (MSPs)

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received from Members of the Scottish Parliament in relation to residents of Glasgow, Cathcart in the last year for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: This information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Royal Pardons

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 23 February 2004, Official Report, column 250W, whether the figure of one free pardon in 1996 refers to (a) both people in the case of John Haase and Paul Bennett and (b) one of them.

David Blunkett: The figure of one free pardon in 1996 did not relate to either John Haase or Paul Bennett. These cases are included in the figure of four given under the heading Remission in my answer of 23 February.

Temporary Staff

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff the Department employs on a temporary basis through employment agencies; what percentage this is of total staff employed; and how much the Department paid employment agencies to supply temporary staff in (a) 200102, (b) 200203 and (c) 200304 to the most recent date for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office does not maintain a central record of agency workers. Agency workers are appointed by agreement with individual units within the Department and the recruitment agencies supplying agency workers.
	The information required could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Travel Documents

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the results of the six-month trial into the requirement of carriers to copy passenger travel documents will be available.

Beverley Hughes: At the end of the six-month trial we will be discussing the results with carriers. A revised Regulatory Impact Assessment will then be published as soon as possible following further consultation with stakeholders.

Work Visas

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work visas were issued to foreign nationals in each year since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: The number of work permits issued in each of the last five calendar years is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Number issued 
		
		
			 1999 60,743 
			 2000 88,651 
			 2001 120,823 
			 2002 136,151 
			 2003 145,351

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

The Impact of Increasing International Competitionin Services

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what conclusions she has drawn from the consultation on her paper The Impact of Increasing International Competition in Services.

Patricia Hewitt: My Department received over 40 responses to the consultation paper and they are now being analysed. A response to the consultation will be included as part of the Trade and Investment White Paper which we intend to publish in June.

Bankruptcies and Liquidations

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) company compulsory liquidations and (b) personal bankruptcies there were in each quarter since 1999, broken down by region.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Table 1 records the number of company compulsory liquidations in England and Wales by region classified according to groupings of Official Receivers' Offices from 1999 to 2003.
	Table 2 records the number of bankruptcies in England and Wales by region classified according to groupings of Official Receivers' Offices from 1999 to 2003.
	
		Table 1: Company Compulsory Liquidations by regions classified according to groupings of Official Receivers Offices 19992003
		
			  Annual Totals 1999 1999 1999 1999 
			  1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 
		
		
			 Anglia Region 719 672 708 733 625 148 192 186 193 
			 London 1161 951 911 1147 864 334 263 258 306 
			 Midland Regions 605 664 553 821 617 184 120 173 128 
			 North East Region 599 546 504 480 502 178 159 131 131 
			 North West Region 714 597 586 987 656 194 187 159 174 
			 Public Interest Unit 37 94 150 266 560  16 7 14 
			 South East Region 768 769 715 1028 880 184 192 187 205 
			 South West Region 606 632 548 768 531 157 165 139 145 
			 England and Wales Total 5,209 4,925 4,675 6,230 5,235 1,379 1,294 1,240 1,296 
		
	
	
		
			  2000 2000 2000 2000 2001 2001 2001 2001 
			  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 
		
		
			 Anglia Region 181 181 125 185 223 187 164 134 
			 London 220 270 226 235 262 283 173 193 
			 Midland Regions 154 176 178 156 170 145 110 128 
			 North East Region 121 144 163 118 149 150 97 108 
			 North West Region 152 173 128 144 175 149 139 123 
			 Public Interest Unit 27 6 45 16 18 13 34 85 
			 South East Region 186 180 216 187 212 252 112 139 
			 South West Region 169 170 150 143 150 169 111 118 
			 England and Wales Total 1,210 1,300 1,231 1,184 1,359 1,348 940 1,028 
		
	
	
		
			  2002 2002 2002 2002 2003 2003 2003 2003 
			  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 
		
		
			 Anglia Region 191 188 158 196 205 153 149 118 
			 London 217 336 215 379 281 200 174 209 
			 Midland Regions 195 209 205 212 190 141 135 151 
			 North East Region 119 131 106 124 140 136 113 113 
			 North West Region 240 292 250 205 180 153 161 162 
			 Public Interest Unit 81 91 38 56 115 347 40 58 
			 South East Region 211 233 242 342 261 227 200 192 
			 South West Region 154 199 175 240 213 113 104 101 
			 England and Wales Total 1,408 1,679 1,389 1,754 1,585 1,470 1,076 1,104 
		
	
	
		Table 2: Bankruptcies by regions classified according to groupings of Official Receivers Offices 19992003
		
			  Annual Totals 1999 1999 1999 1999 
			  1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 
		
		
			 Anglia Region 3,408 3,144 3,521 3,527 4,191 952 873 851 732 
			 OR London 1,286 1,285 1,427 1,457 1,933 334 368 258 326 
			 Midland Region 3,066 3,187 3,409 3,501 4,187 823 749 782 712 
			 North East Region 3,396 3,838 4,228 4,227 4,581 863 849 886 798 
			 North West Region 3,517 3,640 4,108 4,116 3,868 911 908 921 777 
			 Public Interest Unit 5 6 6 11 12  2 1 2 
			 South East Region 2,931 2,730 2,755 3,052 4,618 805 756 695 675 
			 South West Region 4,002 3,720 4,023 4,401 4,627 1111 1022 971 898 
			 England and Wales Total 21,611 21,550 23,477 24,292 28,017 5,799 5,527 5,365 4,920 
		
	
	
		
			  2000 2000 2000 2000 2001 2001 2001 2001 
			  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 
		
		
			 Anglia Region 878 744 781 741 961 848 871 841 
			 OR London 338 289 340 318 351 342 361 373 
			 Midland Region 756 840 852 739 904 889 846 770 
			 North East Region 961 982 986 909 1,111 1,130 1,006 981 
			 North West Region 977 885 926 852 1,056 1,084 1,041 927 
			 Public Interest Unit 1 2 0 3 3 1 2 0 
			 South East Region 721 704 658 647 659 765 694 637 
			 South West Region 1035 968 908 809 1,033 1,056 996 938 
			 England and Wales Total 5,667 5,414 5,451 5,018 6,078 6,115 5,817 5,467 
		
	
	
		
			  2002 2002 2002 2002 2003 2003 2003 2003 
			  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 
		
		
			 Anglia Region 926 860 857 884 1,013 1,003 1,082 1,093 
			 OR London 345 404 355 353 450 463 479 541 
			 Midland Region 824 914 915 848 1,046 1,002 1,105 1,034 
			 North East Region 1,035 1,141 1,098 953 1,082 1,208 1,185 1,106 
			 North West Region 1,036 1,080 1,087 913 1,020 919 1,039 890 
			 Public Interest Unit 3 3 2 3 3 3 4 2 
			 South East Region 121 756 806 763 1,017 1,198 1,236 1,167 
			 South West Region 1,131 1,111 1,129 1,030 1,281 1,152 1,087 1,107 
			 England and Wales Total 6,027 6,269 6,249 5,747 6,912 6,948 7,217 6,940

BBC

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she next expects the Office of Fair Trading to examine the BBC's undertakings on the on-air promotions of BBC published magazines.

Estelle Morris: I have been asked to reply.
	This is a matter for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The OFT considers annually its priorities for review of remedial Orders made and undertakings given under the monopoly provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973. I understand that the OFT currently has no firm date in mind for the review of the BBC undertakings. Any information concerning a possible lack of compliance by the BBC with its undertakings should be passed to the OFT.

Call Centre Services

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to improve the productivity of the call-centre industry in the UK.

Patricia Hewitt: Call centres are used for a wide variety of roles across a broad range of commercial and industrial sectors and the public sector. In the light of this my Department has commissioned research to improve our understanding of the industry and the key factors contributing to its relative competitiveness. The study will help to identify whether there are any actions that can be taken by the industry or Government to address any constraints impacting on its productivity. We expect to publish a report on the study in April.

Common Agricultural Policy

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  whether it is the Government's policy to secure progress in the World Trade talks by eliminating all agricultural export subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the impact on the World Trade talks of each of the options for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy sugar regime set out in the European Commission's working paper Reforming the European Union's sugar policy.

Mike O'Brien: The Government share the European Commission's own view that Option 1, involving extension of the present regime beyond 2006, is not sustainable. Options 2 and 3 both involve reductions in EU prices and production consistent with cuts in tariffs and export refunds which would send a positive message in the context of the current WTO round. The Government are, however, still considering which option represents the best way ahead, taking account of the range of interests involved, including the implications for developing countries.

Connectivity Technologies

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans Oftel has to publish statistics on the take-up of connectivity technologies by micro businesses.

Stephen Timms: Oftel ceased to operate on 28 December. The Office of Communications (Ofcom) is now responsible for the functions formally undertaken by Oftel, operating under the teams of the Office of Communications Act 2002 and the Communications Act 2003. These are, therefore, matters for Ofcom and my officials have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to respond directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Correspondence

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will reply to the question tabled by the hon. Member for Eddisbury on 5 February, ref 153542.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The question was replied to on 18 March 2004.

Correspondence

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will answer the question from the hon. Member for Hertsmere tabled on 26 February, reference 157862.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 15 March 2004
	The question will be answered today.

Electricity Network

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the demand for electricity was on 10 March between 19.00 and 19.30; how much capacity was available; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: On 10 March, maximum demand between 19.00 and 19.30 was 49,012 MW. Peak demand for the day was 49,774 MW in the period from 18.30 to 19.00. Throughout these periods, generation capacity available in the market exceeded NGC's Reserve Margin of 3,500 MW.

Electricity Network

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with National Grid Transco about the level of spare capacity on 10 March between 19.00 and 19.30; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: DTI receives system notices from NGC as a matter of course. The system notice issued by NGC on the morning of 10 March was a NISMNotice of Insufficient System Margin. NISMs are part of normal operations and are issued to signal to the market that additional reserve is desirable. The market responded to the 10 March NISM by making available additional generation capacity.
	NGC confirmed to DTI officials that a NISM had been issued, and provided updates during the day as the situation improved until the NISM was cancelled.

Electricity Network

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with National Grid Transco about (a) the level of maintenance and (b) the state of repair of the electricity network; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: As part of the regular contacts Ministers and officials have with National Grid Transco, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met with Roger Urwin the company's Chief Executive on 9 February. A range of issues were discussed at the meeting including those arising from the Engineering Inspectorate's investigation following the major power failures last year. Maintenance and repair were factors that were looked at as part of the investigation.

International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with partner countries on the location of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor facility; and if she will make a statement on the current state of negotiations.

Patricia Hewitt: I attended the 11 March 2004 Competitiveness Council discussion on the location of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. Europe remains committed to hosting the facility. Discussions between the partners are taking place as to how the site issue might be resolved.

National Minimum Wage

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people are receiving the minimum wage in the Blackpool, North and Fleetwood constituency.

Gerry Sutcliffe: It is not possible to provide estimates specifically for the Blackpool, North and Fleetwood constituency. However, based on the Office for National Statistics' Low Pay data released in 2003, the DTI estimates that around 140,000 people in the North West stood to benefit from the introduction of the national minimum wage in April 1999.
	The DTI estimates that between 130,000 and 160,000 people in the North West stood to benefit from the increase in minimum wage rates in October 2003.

National Minimum Wage

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many workers in Crosby have benefited from the national minimum wage.

Gerry Sutcliffe: It is not possible to provide estimates specifically for the constituency of Crosby. However, based on the Office for National Statistics' Low Pay data released in 2003, the DTI estimates that around 140,000 people in the North West stood to benefit from the introduction of the national minimum wage in April 1999.
	The DTI estimates that between 130,000 and 160,000 people in the North West stood to benefit from the increase in minimum wage rates in October 2003.

Policy Veto

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether her Department is able to exercise a veto in respect of policy proposals put forward by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs relating to the future of Nirex.

Stephen Timms: Decisions on the future of Nirex will be made on the basis of agreement across Government.

Project Funding

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) solely state-financed and (b) public-private partnership and private finance initiative projects for which her Department is responsible have been launched in each region in each of the last 10 years.

Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend has not specified what he means by projects and my answer has been prepared on the basis that he is referring to construction, refurbishment or infrastructure projects in relation to central departmental administration. The following table sets out the information requested.
	
		
			 Year started Projects(37) Status Region 
		
		
			 199495 1 Private finance LSE 
			 199798 1 State financed LSE 
			 199899 1 PFI LSE 
			 199899 1 State financed LSE 
			 199899 1 State financed LSE 
			 200102 2 State financed LSE 
		
	
	(37) Above 2 million capital value.

Project Funding

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent by (a) the Government on solely state-financed projects and (b) the (i) Government and (ii) private sector on public-private and private finance initiative projects for which her Department is responsible in each of the last 10 years, broken down by region.

Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend has not specified what he means by projects and my answer has been prepared on the basis that he is referring to construction, refurbishment or infrastructure projects in relation to central departmental administration. The following table sets out the information as requested.
	
		 million
		
			  Status 
			 RegionLSE PFI/PPPPrivatePublic Solely state financed 
		
		
			 199495 65   
			 199596
			 199697
			 199798  4.6  
			 199899 21.4 8.8 0.7 
			 19992000 35.4 0.3 4.2 
			 200001 12.1 0.2 1.2 
			 200102 6.5 0.7 2.8 
			 200203 3.7 0.1 0.6 
			 200304 0.3 0.2 0.4

Radioactive Waste

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Government will assess the merits of creating a new radioactive waste management organisation, based on Nirex, as a statutory corporation.

Margaret Beckett: I have been asked to reply.
	Government has established the independent Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) to recommend the best form of management for the UK's higher activity radioactive waste. We have also announced that we are looking at ways to make Nirex independent of industry and under greater Government control and we will make an announcement on this in due course.

Renewable Energy

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she has taken to implement the recommendations of the G8 Renewable Energy Task Force to work with the other G8 members in expanding domestic renewable energy markets.

Stephen Timms: The UK is committed towards taking forward the key recommendations of the G8 Renewable Energy Task Force report (G8 RETF)which is why at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, 2002 we launched an initiative for a global renewable energy and energy efficiency partnership (REEEP). Since then a small secretariat based in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been working with international Governments, business and other organisations including representatives of civil society to develop the REEEP as a means for enabling the delivery of the G8 REFT recommendations. The REEEP aims to trigger a step change in renewable energy markets and bring together stakeholders globally to provide the concerted action needed. For our part, the Government have the target of renewables providing 10 per cent. of our electricity and has put in place the Renewable Obligation as the main means of increasing and development of renewable energy domestically to meet this target. Through the REEEP, the UK is working with others, including various G8 members, to share and build upon good policy, regulatory and financing practise necessary to accelerate the market development of renewable energy.

Renewable Energy

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what grants her Department funds for the installation of (a) solar panels and (b) other forms of renewable energy for (i) private landlords who rent out their properties and (ii) private households.

Stephen Timms: Under the Major Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme, private landlords and private households can receive up to 50 per cent. of the cost of installation, subject to price cap. Please see website at www.solarpvgrants.co.uk
	Under the Clear Skies initiative private householders can apply for grants for the following technologies; solar water heating, small wind, micro hydro, ground source heat pumps and biomass heating. The level of grant is different for each technology and is also subject to a price cap.
	Landlords are not eligible to apply when the property where the installation takes place is let. However public landlords can apply under the community stream of Clear Skies and can receive up to 50 per cent. of the costs.
	Further details can be found on the website at www.clear-skies.org

Secondments

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of her Department's senior civil servants went on one week's secondment in (a) the private sector and (b) a small or medium-sized enterprise between April 2002 and April 2003.

Patricia Hewitt: To date 85 per cent. of my Department's Senior Civil Servants have either completed or have made firm arrangement to undertake a one week attachment with some having completed more than one. Attachments were undertaken at a wide range of organisations of which approximately 80 per cent. were in the private sector. We have not broken this down between large and small or medium-sized enterprises.
	I have placed a copy of my Department's publication Inside Out in the Libraries of the House. As will be seen most of the case studies included in this are of people going to small or medium-sized enterprises.

Small Businesses

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the visits she has made to firms employing fewer than 50 workers since 1 January 2003.

Patricia Hewitt: I undertake many visits to companies in the course of my Ministerial duties and as a Constituency MP and I have quarterly meetings with the Chair of the Small Business Council. My officials have checked the records and, since 1 January 2003, I have visited two companies with fewer than 50 employees, in my capacity as Secretary of State.
	6 June 2003Voice Connect Groby, Leicestershire
	14 November 2003Inspiration Healthcare, Beaumont Leys, Leicester
	Records also show that during the same period, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Minister for Small Business and Enterprise has visited some 21 companies with fewer than 50 employees.

Uzbekistan

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what projects her Department is funding in Uzbekistan.

Mike O'Brien: None.

Websites

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost in (a) financial and (b) other terms was in (i) each financial year since 1997 and (ii) 200304 until the latest date for which figures are available of (A) developing and (B) maintaining (1) her Department's website and (2) each website for which her Department is responsible; and how many (C) unique hosts and (D) hits there were in each month for each website in (iii) each financial year since 1997 and (iv) 200304 until the latest date for which numbers are available.

Patricia Hewitt: For expenditure on and visitors to the Department's main website, I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 393W and 24 March 2003, Official Report, column 27W. Information on other departmental and NDPB websites is not held centrally and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
	(C) The DTI website is hosted by our IT service partner and has been hosted centrally since it was set up. Other external hosts have on occasion been used for individual project or scheme websites. However, there is now a programme of activity to bring all of these sites onto the main DTI hosting platform.
	Since Jan 2003, the number of unique visitors and hits to the DTI website have been:
	
		
			  Unique users Hits 
		
		
			 February 322,232 24,108,693 
			 March 375,384 27,198,493 
			 April 367,607 26,314,327 
			 May 357,743 23,398,885 
			 June 324,062 21,707,116 
			 July 337,485 22,941,249 
			 August 321,670 19,980,667 
			 September 345,555 21,335,241 
			 October 377,785 22,611,172 
			 November 408,669 22,036,418 
			 December 307,932 18,619,093

Working Time Directive

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action the Government are taking to ensure that the UK opt out from the EU Working Time Directive is not amended or abolished.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The opt out is important to the UK as it maintains flexible labour markets and gives choice to individuals to work longer hours if they so wish. I, and my colleagues, are working in Europe to stress the importance of the opt out to both employers and employees and to ensure that key decision makers understand the benefits of an approach which provides protection to workers who do not wish to work long hours without restricting those who wish to make a different choice.